Anticipating
by InvertedMeridian
Summary: When Cara saved Isabel one dark and scary night, Godric felt much more for the daring, beautiful human than mere gratitude. (Rated "M" for language & sex in later chapters.) AU/OOC; NOT canon. This is just my take on how things could be. COMPLETE *While HBO/True Blood owns the character "Godric", I own the character "Cara".*
1. Chapter 1

****Author's Note****

**Unsurprisingly, I am not Charlaine Harris/Alan Ball, nor am I affiliated in any way, shape, or form with HBO's True Blood (if I were, it'd be "All Eric & Sookie, All The Time", plus Godric would still be alive and well (and copulating muchly)). I've borrowed from HBO's True Blood-sphere just the concept of Godric, the name Isabel, and the ickyness of bad Weres, and possibly a few other characters as time flows on. All skrew-ups, bad puns, misspellings, horrid grammar and lemony/weak/watery/WTF? plot lines herein are solely mine, as is Cara. Don't sue me...I'm a poor smart-ass. **

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 1~**

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**(Fish/company/3 days...)**

Pain and melancholia, unfettered and definitely unintended, flowed briefly through the bond.

Godric could not imagine how the frail, human body of his beloved could so quietly harbor such strong emotions. No, the only indication of such distress was a fleeting grimace on her lovely face, the slight twisting of her lips giving the only visible hint of her state of heart.

He knew her pain was emotional, not physical, but so strong, so deep, he wondered how she could tolerate it, and so quietly at that. His ancient heart twisted in sympathy as he stood silently watching her reflection in the kitchen window from his unnoticed vantage point in the den.

He was thankful that she seemed to like having the curtains opened to look out into the night sky as she puttered around in the kitchen. This was the only time her unguarded expressions were usually available to him.

Until he'd been able to slip a precious few drops of his blood into her ever-present coffee, much of what he knew of Cara he'd learned from silently observing her reflection in that blessed window. After she was hurt when the Weres attacked her apartment, he had been able to heal her with more of his blood, which strengthened his connection.

The expressions on her lovely, soft face were usually politely hidden, gently guarded, purposefully blended into a charming mask meant to hide her deepest emotions. For some reason he could only guess, she strove to deflect any real interest in her. His only reliable glimpses into her heart, her soul even, came via a cold piece of glass and his life-force flowing in her veins.

He knew she was soft, and sweet, very caring and quite capable of throwing herself headlong into danger to save the innocent. He knew her sense of humor definitely exceeded the norm. Her innate understanding and acceptance of human and vampire nature continually astounded him. He would know the sound of her heartbeats and her scent anywhere.

But that pain...damn, who had hurt her? WHAT had hurt her? How could he, one of a handful of the oldest, most powerful vampires in the world, avenge her pain, soothe her hurt, if he couldn't even ask her what had happened? Alas, that small, all too quick peek into her soul was gone, replaced by her purposeful cheerfulness...or maybe she really WAS able to staunch the flow from her tortured soul that effectively?

Determination. Apparently she was made of starshine, silk, and determination. And music. Her ever-present ear buds once again threatened to fall from her ears as she unconsciously moved to the beat of whatever it was she was listening to. He had to get his 2100-plus year old hands on her iPod and...

"What time are we interrogating those Weres tonight?" Isabel's angry voice interrupted his musings. He didn't blame her for her anger; those same Weres had almost killed her. If it hadn't been for his Cara, his only female child would have died that night almost a week ago.

"We'll go soon, my child. As soon as Alaric completes his assignment, we'll be on our way," he quietly stated as he watched his beloved putting up dishes in the kitchen.

He had plans for those Weres; none would survive the night. They had first attacked his child, and then attacked his mate. Their only option would be the amount of pain they would suffer, which depended entirely on the amount of information they provided.

Isabel smiled indulgently; Godric's interest in "his" Cara was so obvious. His entire retinue was very aware of his fascination with this woman. He always seemed to know exactly where she was and what she was doing no matter where she was on their estate. His heightened awareness was more than vampire. It was soul-felt.

She knew he was grateful to this human for saving her life. That much was understood: they both owed her a blood-debt for her selfless, courageous acts that horrible night when Cara defied the human norms and came to the aid and defense of an unknown but badly injured vampiress.

Shaking her head and exceedingly glad Godric had finally, if quietly, claimed his Cara, Isabel wandered into the kitchen where the lovely human spent most of her time.

"As soon as we hear from Alaric, we're going to have a conversation with those Weres. Are you sure you don't want to come?" She wondered why Cara didn't seem to have any interest in punishing those animals herself, but figured it was a human thing. Still, she wanted to offer. She didn't notice Godric's sudden scowl, but she did hear his low warning growl.

Not giving Cara a chance to answer since she suddenly decided a change in subject was necessary, Isabel asked if she'd still be awake when they returned for the morning.

"Nah, I'll probably all curled up asleep in that lovely bed. I have some business I need to take care of tomorrow and I need to do that thing where I lay down and fight with my pillow for a few hours." Cara grinned at her own humor as she folded her arms and leaned back against the sink. With a flick of her eyes she'd automatically located Godric, but she hoped no one noticed her habit...especially Godric, who of course was still watching her from the corner of his own blue eyes.

"What do you have to do tomorrow? Have you notified your guards yet?" Isabel asked, her own anger momentarily eclipsed by amusement and slight exasperation over this timeless dance between her Maker and her newest friend.

Mentally sighing over her friend's over-protective attitude, Cara shook her head and gave her best lop-sided smile. "Thank you again for your worrying, but I've already made arrangements with Elise and Mark for tomorrow's excursions. I've got to go to the library and return some books, and I need to shop for Were food. I need to check on my place, too. There's no telling what it looks like _now_."

She blushed when she felt, actually _felt_, Godric's enigmatic gaze settling on her face. She looked down at the floor and steadfastly refused to look back up. Now, if she could just make that little grin leave her face...ugh. Damn blushes and grins. He was just so...

"Ugh, just leave that place behind you. You're home now," began Isabel.

"Oh, no, no you don't - we've already had _this_ discussion!" Cara interrupted with a soft, bright laugh. Several vampires automatically turned in her direction, attracted by the beautiful sound coming from the human now so often in their midst.

"Do you not feel, as you humans say, "at home" here?" Isabel inquired with a quirk of her brow, knowing full well that many in their group would go far to ensure this human's comfort. It wasn't just a sense of obligation that drove most of them.

This disingenuous, slightly-mouthy, overtly humorous woman had almost immediately and unintentionally wormed her sweet way into not just the heart of one of the oldest, strongest, most powerful vampires living in the North American continent, but into the hearts of most of the members of his powerful retinue as well.

The only hold-outs were Scott and Gervaise, and she highly suspected Scott had a very secret crush on the human. She also suspected that Gervaise would not be long for this world if he didn't mend his attitude soon.

"Oh, Isabel! You know I feel absolutely comfortable here, so don't even try reverse psychology on me, missy. I just refuse to outstay my welcome, that's all. You know that old adage about fish/company/three days?" Cara's grin widened as she winked outrageously at her permanently cool friend, knowing full well that Isabel wasn't the _only_ vampire wanting her presence made permanent at the estate.

She just didn't quite understand, or trust, the "whys" of it all.

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**Coming up: Cara's POV. Please review if you're so inclined!**

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	2. Chapter 2

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: (See Ch. 1 Author's Note) Also: This tale I'm trying to weave is uber-AU (where a pen can be mightier than - or at least as powerful as - a sword. You'll see...) with major OC'ness. If you like it, let me know, and I'll try to bribe my muses (too much caffeine is a good start).

**~Anticipating , Chapter 2~**

**(Cara's POV)**

"Don't look up...don't look up...don't look... Fuck." Those beautiful sunset-blue eyes, the same eyes gazing back at her in her dreams almost every night for the past two weeks, were still trained directly at her. "Is he trying to count my eyelashes?" Cara wondered a bit breathlessly at the intensity of his concentration. When a vampire focuses on someone, that someone knows it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Trapped in the depths of his unwavering gaze, wanting to drown in the light and the shadows of his eyes, Cara bit her lip. It would be so incredibly easy to... "What am I, twelve?" she grumbled to herself. With a bit of a smile and a blush, she shyly lowered her gaze back to the cup she didn't remember holding.

Suddenly in need of more coffee, she moved gracefully over to the Keurig coffee maker that had mysteriously appeared the second time she'd visited the surprisingly well-appointed vampire compound. Evidentially someone had noticed that she had the exact same machine in her own tiny kitchen. Although it'd felt weird that someone would pay such close attention to her or her habits, it'd been a nice surprise. A very nice surprise. She wondered if the vampires realized that she had coffee in her veins instead of blood.

Judging by the heat she felt between her shoulder blades, those ancient, gorgeous eyes were still focused on her. Cara busied herself with her coffee and an apple as she fought the urge to glance over her shoulder at the male enigma known as Godric.

"Is such intensity just something antique vampires have, or is it just him?" she wondered. "Is it an age thing, a vampire thing, or is it just... him?"

Relief eased some of her tension when she heard a phone ring. Thankfully, Alaric must have news.

During his brief conversation in yet another language she didn't speak, Cara succumbed to the urge to study Godric's handsome features as she polished off her apple. His appearance had first struck her as being slightly more boyish than of a man full-grown, but...appearances were definitely deceiving.

In the course of the past two weeks, she'd come to realize that not only was Godric a man full-grown, but that his over 2000 years of experience had given him a surprisingly powerful personality, along with more wisdom and patience than she'd have thought possible. He was definitely someone you took quite seriously.

If eyes really were "windows to the soul", then Godric's soul went far deeper and stronger than she'd have ever expected of a vampire. But of course, all she'd known about vampires had been from what she'd read or seen on TV...until two weeks ago.

She shivered as she remembered the night that she'd unexpectedly saved a life and changed her own.

It was a dark and stormy night, although she didn't laugh at the stereotypically noir setting. She'd been rushing from the grocery store, bag of veggies swinging in her hand, when she'd smelled wet dog...the strong, fetid stench of a nasty wet dog. Then she heard low moans and...snarling?

"What the everloving hell?" she asked herself as she looked into the dark alley past the corner of the grocery store and saw a woman struggling on the pavement with four huge, muscled, shaggy men around her. They were snarling , growling, and the two crouched over the lady were BITING her?

"Oh HELL no!"

Armed with a purse, a bag of veggies, and not much common sense, Cara barreled over and, using the pen still in her hand from checking items off her grocery list, attacked the smelly, shaggy dog-man closest to her. Her aim was accidentally true because he went down gratifyingly fast and stayed there.

Although her hand throbbed ("Who knew necks were THAT hard to puncture with a pen?"), she immediately went for the next closest stinky man-thing who was already turning toward her. She stared in horrified amazement at the thing's creepy glowing-yellow eyes and, oddly, her hand with the pen in it rose automatically toward where she was staring. She refused to relive the feeling of her pen going deep into the thing's eye, but was grateful the stab was apparently fatal as that thing also fell to the ground with a satisfying thud.

Now for the other dog-things...they were STILL gnawing on the woman! "Fuck this shit!" Cara fumed as she immediately grabbed the mace from her jacket pocket, ran over and started spraying. He lifted his blood-covered face and growled through huge fang-like teeth dripping blood...and got a face absolutely full of mace. He cursed, snarled viciously just before running off. Thankfully the slightly smaller bloody-mouthed dog-man near him yelped and ran off as well.

Cara dropped her purse and bag as she knelt down to the bloody woman and felt for a pulse...which wasn't there. She checked for sounds of breathing...and found none. Her skin was so cold and had a faint bluish tint. This wasn't looking good.

Then the woman blinked a couple of times...lifted her hand...and cleared her throat. With no pulse. Or breathing.

Oh, this must be one of those vampires she'd heard about.

She shrugged off her jacket and placed it under the woman's head and brushed her dark hair out of her face.

"Are you ok? Well, obviously you're not ok, but they're gone now."

The woman blinked a few more times, then shakily replied, "Blood...I'm...going to need...blood, but...for just now...I'm ok. I just...need to be still...for a few moments."

"Ok, I'll be right back - I need to check on those two dog-men to make sure they STAY down. Hang on!" Cara went back over to the first thing she'd downed. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't moving, either. Maybe pen stabs to the necks of doggy-men resulted in some sort of paralysis effect?

The second smelly thing was still dead, which she figured was excellent, all things considered. It was then that she noticed two things: it had stopped raining, and more people were suddenly approaching.

Worried about the wounded vampiress still vulnerable on the pavement, Cara grabbed her pen and the now-empty mace and faced the newcomers.

A young-looking male approached quickly, face full of angry concern. Cara raised her mighty pen and empty mace, determined to prevent further harm to the woman now struggling to sit up.

"Isabel!" he growled as he strode over toward the woman.

"It's ok...he is...safe" the vampiress gasped as she struggled against gravity.

"Hey, don't be moving around, ok? You need to stay still," Cara replied, not looking away from the three people, two of whom were checking out the dog-men lying still on the ground.

The young male was suddenly by the lady's side and checking her wounds. The woman's shoulder and thigh bore the brunt of the attack, but she was scratched and bleeding in too many places to count. Cara ran back over to the lady, and was surprised to hear him say, "Drink, child, and heal."

She remembered reading about how makers and their children have a special bond, and that that vampire blood was healing, but was still shocked to see the male tear his fangs into his own wrist and lower it to the lady's mouth. But when the lady slowly held out her hand toward her, Cara automatically took it, more than willing to offer whatever comfort and security she could. The woman had certainly been through a terrible ordeal.

"It's ok. It looks like these are the good guys, so you're gonna be fine. Just relax," she encouraged as she gently stroked the woman's arm, willing her to relax and heal. She didn't want to watch the blood exchanging bodies, so she kept her eyes on the others, and didn't notice the male's surprised look and curious gaze as his eyes flicked up to her face.

One of the other two people, whom she now assumed to be vampires, approached quickly.

"Godric, one Were is dead. The other yet lives although it seems he cannot move," the tall, dark-haired, pale-skinned vampire stated. The vampire threw a questioning look at Cara.

"There were two more dog-men here when I found her, but they stopped attacking her and ran off." Cara grimaced at the memory of them feeding from the lady.

"Which way did they go?" demanded the other, lighter-haired, vampire.

She pointed the direction, and mentioned that one of the two escaped dog-men seemed younger than the other. The light-haired vampire simply disappeared into the same direction.

"Dog men?" queried the boy-man apparently called Godric as his eyes honed in on her face with surprise.

"Yeah, well, they smelled like wet dogs and looked kinda like dogs, with huge fangs and shaggy hair, and they sure sounded like dogs the way they were snarling and growling. It was awful! I don't see how she's even still alive...or...whatever."

"You know she is vampire?" Godric raised an eyebrow.

Cara quirked a grin. "The lack of pulse and breathing combined with the still-being-alive part sorta gave it away." As she met this Godric's powerful stare, she felt something...unfamiliar. Something exciting and soothing...something that made her think of things she shouldn't consider because she couldn't have.

She quickly turned her attention back to the lady who was thankfully no longer ingesting his blood. "How ya doing over here, hon? Feeling any better yet?"

"I will soon heal. Thank you." Isabel was already sounding much stronger.

"What is your name?" Godric asked as he helped his child sit up.

"Cara", she replied as glanced back at Godric...and tried not to notice how he had still been staring at her before he switched his gaze to Isabel. "You really are starting to look better already!"

She took a tissue from her pants pocket and started trying to dab some of the worst of the blood from Isabel's wounded shoulder. "Is there anything else I can do?" She gave up on removing the blood and instead tried to brush more hair out of Isabel's face.

Isabel squeezed her hand. "You saved my life. You truly did. I am grateful for your help and your kindness."

"I couldn't let them keep...ugh. That was horrible! What the hell kind of monsters WERE they?" Horrible images kept circling in Cara's brain.

"Weres." Godric spat the word out like it was a vile poison. "Filthy, disgusting Weres. And there were four of them?" He seemed surprised at the number.

"Yep. Two were standing more or less where those two are now, and the other two were...yeah, but they ran off after I emptied this can of mace in the one's face." Cara held up the now-empty canister. She remembered her pen, and leaned over to pick it up where she'd dropped it.

"Who would have thought a silver pen would have come in so handy, huh?" She tried to wipe the Were off the pen with the tissue still in her hand, but the memory of it going into the that weird yellow eye was rather revolting. She threw the pen away from her with a shudder.

Godric looked confused at her odd actions.

"Um, that pen kind of got poked into the dog-man's eye. The one who isn't still alive." Cara grimaced the memory.

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**A/N: To the fangtastic reviewers with the kind and encouraging words: THANK YOU! Your feedback is extremely appreciated! Also: Stay tuned for Godric's eventual POV...he thinks the face Cara just made is the...


	3. Chapter 3

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1 "Author's Note". This tale I'm trying to weave is uber-AU with major OC'ness. There is very little about this story that is cannon.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 3~**

**(Godric's POV from their initial encounter)**

Godric thought the shuddery face this Cara made was the most adorable he'd ever seen. He blinked and shook his head, wondering where _that_ errant thought had come from.

The stench of wet Were was excruciatingly strong and the blood leaking from them onto the pavement in the dark alley didn't help. "Four Weres is not a coincidence," he growled to himself as he surveyed the scene.

"How did the Weres even know where my child would be to attack her in the first place?" The moon was not full, and the cold, stormy weather was not inviting for an evening excursion, even to filthy Weres.

"Were they lying in wait for her?" he wondered. He had felt her fear and anger, and then her pain, through the maker/child bond. His own mission that night had been instantly forgotten in his rush to reach his child. If this human, this Cara, had not happened along when she did, Isabel would most certainly have met her final death.

Quietly he ordered Gervaise to contact the nest and inform them of this situation.

As his blood healed his child's many wounds, his worry for her began to abate enough to allow himself to focus on her savior. Now he could marvel at this fascinating human woman.

She was shorter than his own 5'11" by several inches. Her long dark hair was up in some sort of loose knot at the back of her head. Her dark jeans and too-large red thermal shirt were smeared with a few blood stains. The dark eyes in her sweet, soft face held intelligence and secrets both, yet her plump lips held the memory of humor. The slight blush on her cheeks suggested either wind exposure or innocence. He could not understand where she found her inordinate courage, though.

"You were alone when you came upon four Weres attacking my child, and yet you still...?" His incredulity was obvious.

"Well, yeah", answered the woman, surprise evident at his question. "There's no way I could just let them...I couldn't just let them attack her like that." Her anger and disgust at the Weres was palpable.

Although he could understand the outrage on her beautiful face, Godric felt an unexpected tinge of angry concern toward this Cara for purposefully endangering her own life in such a fool-hardy way. He knew exactly how vicious Weres could be.

"Cara, I am in your debt for saving my child's life, but you realize that such courage could very easily have gotten you killed!" He was torn between gratitude for her actions and outrage that she would put herself in such danger. Such oddly mixed emotions were confusing to his ancient heart.

"There was no way I could let them do that to her! As scared as I was, I can't imagine how she must have felt. I'm really glad the other two ran away." Her quiet voice trailed off as if she were finally understanding just how dangerous the situation truly had been. S he shivered in the cool night air, but did not move toward her bloody jacket.

Godric looked toward the entrance to the alley when he heard Scott's return. "Were you able to track them?"

"I followed them to a house five blocks over," the blond vampire quickly reported. "Looks like there's a pack holed up in there but I couldn't tell how many." Scott surveyed the scene again, then turned to look at Cara and demanded, "How did you manage to fell two full-grown Weres?"

Godric did not appreciate the tone Scott used with the woman, but was also curious as to how this small, thin woman managed to incapacitate two such large animals. He glared a warning at the blond-haired vampire then turned his piercing gaze back to Cara.

"Surprise. That's got be how I did it, honestly. I had my pen in my hand from being in the store and when I got to the first...Were?" she glanced over at Godric for confirmation. "I just jabbed him in the neck before he could get to me. The other one turned around at the noise and I freaked at his glowing yellow eyes. It's like my hand just automatically moved to stab him..." she grimaced, obviously remembering the disgusting situation, "...there."

Godric noticed that she shivered again, and glanced over at her blood-stained jacket as she drew a set of keys from her purse. The temperature had dropped since the rains had stopped, and the human was undoubtedly suffering the after-effects of her battle and needed to go to her home. While he felt an odd urge to see this human safely home himself, he knew his child still needed his presence. He would command his Third with this task.

"Gervaise, see Cara safely to her home. I don't trust Weres. Cara," he paused, enchanted by her deep brown eyes, the delicate arch to her brows, the rosy plump lusciousness of her bottom lip..., "I owe you a blood-debt for saving my child's life. I would speak with you more, but later and under better conditions. Gervaise will see you to your home."

The wind suddenly changed direction.

Godric's eyes widened slightly, his nostrils flared. He barely kept from dropping his fangs as he caught her uniquely intoxicating scent. He unconsciously rose and moved slowly toward her. His dead heart would have stopped if it still held a beat.

"She is mine."

Three sets of shocked vampire eyes immediately turned to him at his claim made too softly for human ears to notice. All three stunned vampires nodded imperceptively. When Godric issued a declaration, no one would dare challenge him.

He never claimed a human. Ever. He knew his actions were very much out of character, but...she was his. SHE WAS HIS. He didn't know how he knew this; he just did. He knew this as surely as he knew he could not enter the sunlight...as surely as he knew how to feed. She was his as surely as he was hers.

"If you will allow me, I would visit with you at first dark tomorrow," he said softly as he attempted to cover his small lapse in conversation. His hand lifted to brush a few strands of her dark hair away from her cheek, the pink warmth of her skin inviting his caress like a magnet. His fingertips lingered for a few precious moments before he reluctantly lowered his hand.

Cara started at the contact, and shivered a bit, but didn't back away. Her eyes flew to his as a sweet blush darkened her cheeks. Her rosy lips parted as she started to speak, but she changed her mind, cleared her throat, and simply nodded instead. A small smile graced her lips before she shyly lowered her gaze and ducked her head.

She turned and retrieved her purse and shopping bag before saying good-bye to Isabel and wishing her a quick recovery.

The ancient vampire simply stood and stared as Cara and Gervaise walked toward the store's parking lot. In a highly-unusual state of confusion, he could not decide what to consider first. Never in his over 2000 years of existence had he felt anything like this. It was disconcerting to say the least.

He was not familiar with feeling...anything, really. While he was certainly familiar with experiencing the concepts of anger, loyalty, patience, secrecy, planning, timing, satisfaction from a good feed or, although not recently, a good fuck, the things he was feeling? sensing? with this Cara were completely new. Intriguing. Curious. Exciting. Faintly terrifying. Definitely addictive. Confounding, mostly. The whirlwind in his normally-placid, well-ordered mind unsettled him greatly.

Though he relished his thoughts of Cara rather more than he knew he should.

Cara... so impulsively brave yet so oddly shy.

Shaking his head, he turned to his child, picked her up in his arms, and sped toward his nest with Scott. He would see to his child's comfort and then he would surely ponder these recent events.

And then he would plan.

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***I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but Godric refused to say anything else to me. I imagine he's uncharacteristically****skulking around in his nest, becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the state of his undeath, planning, plotting, and perhaps even nightdreaming about...things.***

***I really appreciate your reviews. They tell me if I'm making any sense at all with this story, and if I'm successfully expressing the feelings as they're meant to sound...or not. And, btw: I LOVE MY REVIEWERS! THANK YOU!***


	4. Chapter 4

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 4~**

**(...the night after the fight...)**

Not having a job was seriously skrewing with more than just finances, Cara whined to herself, and having a natural propensity toward being a night-owl wasn't helping, either.

After being safely delivered to her home by the insultingly silent Gervaise the night before, she'd taken a very long shower, tossed her blood-stained clothing into the washing machine to soak, and then sat at her computer nursing numerous cups of coffee for hours. She'd meant to search for a job. She'd even unfolded the newspaper to the "help wanted" section. But...

Vampires. Wow.

"Who'da thunk it?" she wondered aloud to her inconveniently empty coffee cup. After spending hours researching vampires instead of jobs, she still wasn't sure she actually knew anything relevant.

Sure, press about their Great Reveal, reported habits, and all the other tidbits she'd read about were interesting, but all that rather vague information didn't tell her much about the vampire, erm, vampires she'd just met. Unsatisfied and still a bit upset over the whole Were business, she'd finally given up, activated the washing machine, and crawled into bed long after sunrise the next morning.

Her dreams reacted accordingly. Weres, vampires, fangs, snarling dog-men, silver pens, a certain vampire, stunning blue eyes, a sliver of lightening grazing along her cheek...

In a wise but failing attempt to stop remembering the seductive images from her dreams, Cara finally cursed, gave up, and got up. She made a cup of coffee and glared at the vacuum cleaner.

Godric said he'd be visiting at "first dark", whenever that was, and considering she'd slept the greater part of the day, she figured she didn't have a lot of time to tidy up her already-clean small apartment.

Once she ate a small meal, she dashed off to the store to buy the possibly-visiting vampire something to drink. Then she gave into the need for sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, showering... and then finally started thinking about what she'd wear that evening.

After bemoaning the limited options in her closet, she finally chose a dark red knit top low-cut enough to be interesting but not slutty, and a pair of khaki jeans. ..and then decided her nails needed a coat of polish. Naturally her toe-nails needed some sprucing up, too, right? Frustrated with her own nervousness, she ditched the polish and...made another cup of coffee.

Then she waited. Paced. Looked up sunset times online. Practiced her patience. Tried reading a book she eventually noticed she was holding upside-down.

Just as she realized that it was full dark outside, someone knocked on her door.

Heart thudding, hands suddenly shaking, she blew out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and bravely opened the door.

The impact of Godric was even more forceful than she remembered.

He still seemed a bit boyish, but somehow different under the porch light. His off-white shirt and khaki cargo pants were fitted just enough to hint at impressive strength, and his shirt was opened to allow a brief glimpse of some sort of tattoo, but his eyes were what fascinated her. Realizing that she had gotten lost in the depths of his deep, beautiful gaze, Cara blushed, grinned, and then invited him in with a small flourish.

"Godric, it's so nice to see you. Please, come in." She cringed at how mundane she sounded.

Godric smiled at her blushing invitation and entered quickly. His senses were immediately flooded with the intriguing aromas of her home: coffee, vanilla, tobacco smoke, lily of the valley, clay, pillows, cotton, oranges, bananas, apples, old paper, and her own beguiling, feminine scent. Jasmine? Honey? Pears, maybe? He was suddenly impatient to solve this mystery, yet curiously loathe to rush the experience.

"You don't know much about vampires, do you, Cara," he responded with a small quirk of his eyebrow.

Godric believed that knowledge is power, and he wanted to share what information he could with this intriguing woman who haunted his thoughts so incessantly.

During the hours of the night and well past the sun's rising, he had pondered. Planned. Rifled through his wardrobe. Paced and evaluated. Quizzed a non-communicative Gervaise. Tried and failed to understand the insanity that had driven him to verbally claim this woman. Tried and failed to understand why such a thing had felt - _still_ felt - so incredibly right. Tried not to remember so intently the smallest details of her face, her person, her voice...and failed miserably.

Finally, though, he arrived at several conclusions.

The Were attack was planned.

There was a spy in their midst.

He would, indeed, make Cara his own.

Toward those ends, he had charged Scott with further investigating the Were situation. He had discussed the possibility of a spy with Isabel, who would soon begin her own investigations. And he had decided to slowly, carefully, gently draw Cara into his world.

In all fairness, though, she would need to know much more about vampires and their tendencies. His world could be a harsh, cold, cruel place, but from what he already knew of her bravery he chanced that she would not run, especially if he helped prepare and guide her. He would shelter her as he could from the worst aspects of vampire nature, but knowledge was, indeed, power.

Cara shook her head. "No, I really don't know much of anything about vampires. I know you guys are supposed to be able to drink blood substitutes like True Blood, though. Would you care for one? I wasn't sure which kind to get so I opted for O positive." she offered as she led the ancient vampire into her small den.

"Thank you." He smiled as he inclined his head in gratitude for the offer. He was pleased that she had made the effort. Odd that she would choose that particular type. It was his favorite, well, his favorite in a human. Nothing synthetic tasted better than rot, but he would not insult her hospitality with that information just yet.

"Here, have a seat and I'll go heat it up." Her sweeping gesture indicated his choice of either the sofa or the arm chairs angled closely toward each other in the small room.

As she left for the kitchen, Godric took a moment to quickly survey his surroundings. The small, plain room was very tidy, and held few personal artifacts showing the personality of the woman who lived there. There were no pictures or personal decorative objects anywhere.

A small desk in the back of the room was rather utilitarian, with a computer and other hardware, a folded newspaper, a small older telephone, and a few pens and note pads scattered about. Potted green vines grew abundantly from several shelves spaced along the walls. Thick, plain, white curtains hung across the windows. An adequate television hung on the wall across from the sofa.

But...there _were_ books. There were lots of books neatly arranged on shelves and stacked on the table in the center of the room; there were books under lamps, on the floor beside the shelves, on the floor beside the sofa... There was an open book near an iPod on the table nearest a well-worn chair. A small smile graced his lips as he noted that apparently his Cara held a fondness for reading.

He paused near the other chair, and set the gift he didn't think she'd even noticed on the small table between them. Her newly-cleaned jacket lay folded atop the gift hidden in the bag. In the early hours of the dawn he had finally settled on a gift he thought might be appropriate, and had instructed his day man to buy it for her.

It was too soon, he knew, to give her the kinds of things he really wanted her to have. He owed her his child's life, and could think of nothing to give her in repayment for such a priceless gift. Isabel was his only "daughter," and was very dear to him. He would think of some way to repay Cara for her kindness and bravery, but his mind would not settle to ponder such things during the long hours of the night and early morning.

He hoped this small gift, the first of many if he had his way, would suffice for the nonce, although it was necessarily utilitarian.

Cara's return seemed to add more light to the small room. Her sweet face held a flush that he could only hope...

"Here, have a seat." She placed his warmed True Blood and her cup of coffee on the table and indicated the chair he was nearest as she took her own seat. "How is Isabel doing? Is she ok?"

"She is healed, thank you," he inclined his head in acknowledgement, "and sends you her gratitude."

Godric stared in fascination as Cara laughed gaily and her nose wrinkled a bit. "Oh, please tell her that I don't want her gratitude; I really don't. I just want her to be well and forget that last night ever happened." Still smiling, she shook her head and looked away.

He stated softly but firmly, "We owe you a blood-debt, Cara. You saved Isabel's life, so she owes you. She is my child, therefore I owe you as well." Cara started to speak, but Godric gently placed his cool fingertip on her lips to quieten her. Startled dark brown eyes flew to his. "True vampires take such debts _very_ seriously. A vow from me, or from my child, is for life. And for a vampire, life can be a very long time." He slowly drew his fingertip from the warmth of her softly parted lips before he gave into the temptation igniting in his core.

His fangs abruptly dropped when she blushed and licked her lips.

Shocked, he could not remember the last time he lost control of his fangs in such a manner. He was well over 2000 years old, yet here he was, reacting instinctively like a newborn just decades from the earth. He needed to regain his control, and fast. Somehow he managed to resheath his fangs.

Thankfully Cara didn't notice; she had blinked a few times and ducked her head as she reached for her coffee. He tried not to notice her throat as she swallowed. He was a vampire, after all.

"Well then," she smiled shyly back up at him, "I thank both you and Isabel for your gratitude, but honestly, I don't expect anything." She paused briefly, and dipped her gaze. "But...I would like to get to know you guys better, though," she glanced back up into his eyes, "if you wouldn't mind?"

"IF HE WOULDN'T MIND!?" Godric never knew how he kept from grabbing her up and crushing her to his chest as he felt the strongest surge of hope and joy in recent memory. Such strong emotions...where did they keep coming from?

His smile rivaled the rising sun as he strongly replied, "I would love to further our acquaintance."

Cara's sweet, blushing smile would be the undeath of him. He sipped at the disgusting red beverage and tried to think of it instead of the warmth and pull of the delightful woman sitting so close to him. He had given up hope that the stench of the synthetic blood would mask her luscious scent.

She finally glanced away and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Coffee is salvation, she thought as she took a sip to buy herself a moment to calm down and refocus. Mentally she cursed both her perma-blush and that strange burst of hope in her chest. Hope was for fools.

Her mind raced with questions, though. "I have so many questions that I don't even know where to start!" she eventually said. "I've heard things on tv and read stuff, but I know you can't believe everything you see and hear from the big media companies."

"You are wise to question mainstream media outlets," he agreed with a wry grin. "So, just start asking questions, and I will answer as best I can. I will tell you this, however," he stated seriously with an apologetic look on his face. "I may not be able to answer some of your questions, and some answers may have to remain incomplete, but I will not lie to you. _Ever_."

His words sounded like a promise.

Cara's suddenly serious, unsmiling stare met his own, trapping him in her mahogany depths for a few very long seconds. He knew something was passing between them, but exactly what it was eluded his mental grasp.

Godric was saddened when she nodded and finally released him from her gaze. He felt the strangest urge to comfort her.

"I can respect that. If, ok, _when,_ I do ask a question that you can't or don't want to answer, just tell me. We all have our secrets." She smiled, wanting him to know that she understood, and that it was ok.

She had been surprised at just how much effort it took to break from his beautiful blue gaze. She glanced down at the cup in her hand. Thankfully, it was empty. She needed a break from whatever it was that just happened.

"I'm going to make another cup of coffee. Would you care for another blood?" she asked as she rose from her seat. Godric rose to follow her.

"I've heard all the media crap about how you guys are supposed to love this fake blood," she continued, unaccountably pleased he was following her into the kitchen," but even to me, it smells really awful." She wrinkled her nose and shuddered. "You are under absolutely no obligation to finish that if you don't want to. I wasn't sure what to get, but I did want to have something on hand to offer you. Is there something else you'd prefer?" She spun on her heels to face him as she asked.

Her cheek collided with soft cotton as two strong, cool hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

He was right behind her.

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***Wow - I love your reviews! Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement!***


	5. Chapter 5

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon

**~Anticipating, Chapter 5~**

**(...the night after the fight, continued...)**

Cara gasped, startled into instant stillness. She couldn't believe the sudden contact - he was so close! Her free hand flew to his waist as she caught a whiff of something deliciously dark with faint tones of musk, leather, and pine. She could have sworn her mouth watered.

She raised her head as Godric's strong hands turned her closer into his hard chest. His jaw clenched as his throat worked to swallow convulsively. Burning dark-blue eyes seared down into wide brown eyes. Lips tight, nostrils flared, his young face looked made of stone.

Finally, after a long tense moment, a massive shudder shook his rigid frame and he released her. Immediately he flew to the other side of the kitchen.

"Oh, s-sorry about that," she stuttered, then cleared her throat. "I tend to turn on a dime. Guess you can tell I'm not used to having people around." She tried to pretend her hands weren't shaking. She knew something significant had just happened, but her brain couldn't seem to catch up.

Godric said nothing as he tracked her with his hot blue gaze.

Blushing furiously, Cara shifted into autopilot and turned toward her coffee machine. Long silent moments passed. "Coffee. Yeah, that's what I was doing. Making a cup of coffee," she finally reminded herself. She forcefully expelled the breath she was holding while the machine loudly completed its short brewing cycle.

The tense silence continued as she turned to the fridge...got the milk out...added milk to her coffee...returned the milk to the fridge...stirred her coffee...took a sip...set the cup down...

"We are not people." Godric suddenly ground out, his voice strained, low and hoarse. "The first and most important thing for you to know is that I am vampire. I am no longer human."

Cara refused to look away from her caffeine, but did straighten her shoulders and nod as she waited for him to continue.

"I am a creature driven by instinct." He sucked in a hiss of breath. A moment later, he continued. "My strength is far, far greater than yours, far greater even than most other vampires because of my age. I could easily end you with a flick of my wrist. Your speed and reflexes are incomparable to mine. My senses are exponentially sharper than your own. Now that I know your scent, I could track your steps a week after you take them."

She jumped when his hand lightly clasped her shoulder barely a second later.

"It is unlikely you would hear me if I did not allow it. I am no longer human, Cara. I am an animal," he growled. "I scent your blood and my mouth waters and I want to sink my fangs deep into your veins and drink. I hear your heart beating from across this room and my mouth waters." He paused, then took a long, unnecessary breath. Exhaled.

"I drink blood, Cara, human blood, and I want yours more than you would care to know."

Heavy silence lingered until his hand moved on her shoulder in a soothing motion.

"I do not speak of these things to frighten you," Godric finally spoke quietly, regretfully, near her ear, "but I need you to understand that I am not human. I have been, and can be, appallingly vicious without pause or regret. I need you to realize that, fundamentally, I am different from you. Never would I harm you deliberately, but you must be aware of the risks inherent with my kind." She sensed him inhaling deeply just before he jerked back.

Cara considered all this for a long moment, then slowly covered his hand still lingering on her shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"I don't know a lot about vampires, but I do know a few things about nature." She paused a moment to collect her scattered thoughts. "Nature totally believes in the old "survival of the fittest" adage because it works. And it...it stands to reason that the stronger the species, the stronger the instincts."

After taking a deep breath and gathering her courage, she turned to meet his somber blue gaze.

"Your kind and my kind, we share a world. Yes, I can see that you guys are...predators...of my kind, but I also see that you guys aren't necessarily cruel or insane or whatever. I don't see why we can't get along, ya know?" She bit her lip as she tried to find the words to express her thoughts. "I believe that knowledge is power. So, I think it would be to my benefit to understand vampires better."

"You...you are not afraid of me," he asked in stunned disbelief, his eyes wide with shock.

Cara shook her head. "No," she replied slowly. "I'm a lot of things, but for some reason I'm not afraid of you. I'm...astounded? Confused, maybe?" She inclined her head a bit as she searched for the words she wanted. It was surprisingly hard to think with him so close.

He slowly glided the tip of his finger down her jaw as he gazed deeply into her eyes as if he were trying to know her soul.

"I'm fascinated with the power you hold, but I'm in awe of your strength in holding back from using it. I know you drink blood, and I'm quickly figuring out that a big part of being a vampire involves so many other things that I don't have a clue about." She paused, thinking. "I have to admit - I can't stand the thought of drinking someone's blood, but then, I'm human. That's just not something we're prone to doing."

She grinned shyly and shook her head. "But I know that you guys have to eat, so there's that. How DO you stand that nasty-smelling blood substitute, anyway?" She asked with a repulsed scowl on her face as she, hopefully nonchalantly, turned around to retrieve her coffee from the counter behind her.

She had to get away from that fingertip grazing along her jaw. His closeness...that contact...it was too much.

Godric took a polite step back as he gaped at her in amazement. He could not believe this turn of events. His luck, her courage, fate, fortune, chance...whatever it was, he was absolutely flabbergasted.

Just moments ago, he had been on the verge of attacking her. When she turned so abruptly and he stepped into her, the exquisite scent and inviting warmth from her body had instantly overwhelmed him. Every feed and fuck instinct he possessed had snarled to life.

He hoped she would never know just how close he had been to... It had been many centuries since he had come so close to losing control. He would think on this later.

"Cara-mia, you honor me with your trust, but I worry that you do not truly understand the threat my kind holds for your kind."

She sipped at her coffee before replying. "There are all kinds of threats, Godric. Yours are just more obvious that most. I believe that, like with humans, there are vampires who choose to be good by not abusing their power, and there are those who aren't so considerate."

He nodded in agreement, then sighed. "But you must know that vampires are not like humans. We are completely different." His grave persistence annoyed her.

It was like he was purposefully trying to portray vampires in the worst light possible, and that didn't sit well with her innate sense of fairness. Plus, she was really tired of being so serious for so long. Life, well, hers at least, was too short for such things.

"I completely disagree with such a broad and biased statement," she replied with a soft grin.

"Why?"

She wondered if she would ever tell Godric how adorable he was when confused. Whoa, she halted her musings. That sounds a lot like future-talk...

"Because I sense a great deal of humanity in you, of course, and I've learned the hard way to trust my intuition." She met his confused gaze directly and tried to clear her face of all humor. It mostly worked.

Catching on but still wanting to open her lovely eyes to reality, Godric replied, "So you do not believe that vampires are vicious, devious, calculating, manipulative creatures capable of the most depraved acts imaginable?" He sounded vaguely exasperated.

"I believe that all people, vampire and human alike, are capable of those things. But we're all just as capable of humor, fun, kindness, silliness, love, honor, passion, and gentility, as well."

"Cara," he sighed, "vampires are not people."

She covered her mouth with her hand. "*cough*bullshit*cough*"

"What...what was that? What did you just do?" The suddenly mischievous twinkle in his eyes belied the earnestness of his query.

"I disagreed with you in a very non-confrontational way." She was so relieved that he was willing to change the subject.

"Why?"

"Why did I disagree with you? Or why did I opt for non-confrontational?"

"Both."

"Greedy."

"Very."

"You're awful!"

"Yes, so answer my questions."

"What if I don't?" Twinkling brown eyes peeped up into gleaming blue eyes.

"Then I will have to take measures to ensure your cooperation."

"Oh, yeah? Like what, vampire?"

"I will take your coffee hostage, human."

"Oh no! Not my sweet innocent coffee! You wouldn't dare!"

~breezy blur of color~

"Ahem."

"Godric, give me back my coffee!"

"Answer my questions, Cara."

"And what questions were those?"

"Why did you disagree with me, and why did you choose to do so in a non-confrontational manner, of course."

"You remembered all that?" She reached for her coffee. He stepped back.

"Of course." He grinned wickedly. "My memory is infallible."

*hrumph* "You're mean." She didn't know the affect her sparkling eyes, blushing cheeks and twitching lips were having on Godric's...equilibrium.

"I prefer determined, but it is your choice, of course." He placed his hand over his non-beating heart and gave a gallant bow.

"Ok! Ok!" She finally succumbed to her amusement and laughed happily. "Have a seat." She indicated a chair at the small kitchen table. "And...gimme back my coffee!" His quirked eyebrow did strange things to her heartbeat as he slowly met her laughing demand.

She thought he wore his arrogance deliciously well.

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***Love me some sly, playful Godric!***


	6. Chapter 6

****Author's Note****

**See Ch. 1's "Author's Note" for the ubiquitous disclaimers. Caution: Smut ahead. It's not ALL lemony goodness, but, yeah, it's a bit smutty. **

****I love reviews - gentle, supportive reviews, even more so!****

**So, as a lemony THANK YOU to my FANTASTIC reviewers, here's a quickie:**

**~Anticipating, Chapter 6~**

**(Godric takes a bath...)**

"Vampires and humans are all people of one sort or another." Cara's ringing endorsement nipped at his memory. She had been determined to make him realize that it did not matter to her if a person was "living or undead, warm or cold...a person is still a person." Beautiful, stubborn female.

He smiled faintly at the memory of the surprising resolve in her face as she sat across from him at her small kitchen table. That this lovely girl...he guessed her age at somewhere around a mere 25 human years?...argued quite effectively with a vampire well over 2000 years old...simply incredible.

Godric stretched and added more hot water to his bath. Long soaking bubble baths were one of the few excesses he allowed himself on a regular basis. He could excuse such an activity by claiming it helped him think and relax, but honestly, he just enjoyed the peaceful sensuality of lying back and soaking in very warm, nicely scented water.

He let his mind drift yet again to the hours before and found himself both pleased and disconcerted by the night's revelations.

Cara's small rented apartment was clean and well tended, but strangely impersonal. She was an avid reader and drinker of ever-present, rather milky coffee, and an excellent conversationalist. She possessed a strong intelligence, incredible tolerance, and a thoroughly charming sense of humor. He wryly believed that, given time, her stubbornness would become quite legendary.

A different memory resurfaced, and he cringed. He had been frighteningly close to the edge. He would always be grateful to whatever powers that be that _must_ have come to his aid for he still had no idea how he managed to stop himself from draining her and fucking her senseless. It had been a horrible shock to discover just how easily his restraint could slip around her.

He slapped his hand through the water in automatic disgust with his lack of control, then relaxed his head back onto the bath pillow. His next memory was much happier.

After all that drama, he was surprised and grateful at being allowed to sit and converse with her for an immensely satisfying two hours. She was unfailingly polite, and a lively, interested participant in their conversation. She was quick-witted, charming, eloquent, yet peculiarly reserved.

While he was well-pleased with the advances he had made in teaching her more about vampires in general, he regretted that he was unable to bring the conversation around to...himself.

He found that he wanted her to know him, the _real_ him, and it bothered him that she seemed determined to keep a sort of distance between them. Perhaps the time for such things was not yet right because every time he tried to bring up something of a more personal nature, she managed to very subtly redirect the conversation. Odd, that.

But he was immensely pleased that he could play with her, and laugh! What an extremely pleasant surprise! He was thoroughly taken with this Cara, and delighted with their shared humor. He could not remember how long it had been since he had enjoyed partaking in such silly behavior. It was particularly invigorating!

Others by nature treated him with the deference and admiration due his age and power, but it was tinged with an obligatory distance. By necessity he had precious few trusted friends, and even fewer confidants around whom he could truly relax.

Sadly, he admitted to himself, he missed laughing.

He added bath gel to a natural sea sponge, worked up a thick lather, and began to bathe. It was getting close to sunrise.

What a night! Cara's tinkling laughter then came to mind, as did her luminous brown eyes, gleaming with humor and intelligence. How clever she was with her jesting, shyly peeping up at him from beneath her long dark lashes.

Slyly he smirked as he washed his arms. He would definitely have to think of more ways to tease her. She blushed so beautifully.

As he washed his chest, he pondered various excuses to visit her home again. Maybe he could entice her into visiting his estate? His fangs ached in his gums, but he held them in.

Cara was genuinely happy to receive her cleaned jacket, and had jokingly hoped she would never have to try out her new "super mace". He had tasked his day-man with acquiring the best mace product available; apparently he was successful.

She had received her gift as gracefully as anyone could when receiving a replacement mace device, but he wanted to give so many other things, better things.

How he would love to see her eyes light up when receiving much more appropriately feminine gifts. Jewelry? Flowers? Perfumes?

Memory of her luscious scent flooded his mind. His fangs dropped before he could stop them.

His hand slowly slipped lower, the sponge forgotten as he relived the intoxicating blend of jasmine, honey, pears, and her own warm feminine scent.

Fuck. His cock was rock-hard and aching.

He palmed himself and slowly started stroking as he imagined his lips on her neck. He could almost feel her skin under his tongue. Maybe he could permit himself an imaginary nip or two.

He could just see her biting her lip as he sucked on her neck. His cock jerked at the thought of her teeth biting his lips instead of her own.

His hand clinched tighter and stroked faster as he imagined tasting those soft plump lips...imagined thrusting his tongue into the depths of her warm, sweet mouth.

He growled and hissed and pumped furiously at the thought of those lips kissing down his chest and lower...

His whole body went rigid as he shocked himself with the force of his shuddering release.

Godric could not remember the last time he had put his hand to such use. Apparently her laughter wasn't the only thing he wanted.

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**Well...what did you think? This is my first serving of lemonade here, so let me know if you loved it, loathed it, both...neither? (I gotta say, I love me some Godric gettin' his groove on...)**


	7. Chapter 7

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing cannon about this story.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 7~**

**(Cara's snit after the visit the night before)**

**"Nope nope nope nope nope!" **

**Cara stomped through the apartment en route to her precious coffee machine.**

**"Sooooo not gonna go there," she forbade herself as she slammed the wretched coffee cup into the machine and stabbed at the button to start the magic.**

**The events of the previous night weighed heavily on her rest-deprived mind. Godric was so...he was too...ugh. **

**The unfortunate fridge door got ganked open; milk got sloshed into the cup; the poor fridge door got slammed shut. **

**She chugged half the coffee in one gulp. Then complained bitterly about how the coffee was never hot enough to counteract the cooling effect of the milk. Then drained the rest of it. **

**Then made another cup as she glared at the kitchen table. **

**"Dammit." She fumed to herself. "Why did he have to be so...so fucking **_**everything!**_**?"**

**With a frustrated sigh, Cara finally plopped down on her sofa. After indulging in yet another round of irate self-pity, she finally shook her head and attempted to think reasonably.**

**And promptly gave up.**

**His eyes were just too damn blue.**

**Serious, sly, ancient, sparkling, sexy blue.**

**And the man?...vampire?...MALE...ugh...he had a damn DIMPLE. Right there. In his cheek. Right where she could see it every freaking time he smiled. Which, after they sat down at her kitchen table, happened quite often. And was utterly enthralling every single fucktastic time. **

**"Yes", she concluded, "Godric was pure sex. Sex on wheels and anywhere else he wanted it."**

**"And that wasn't the worst of it," she grumbled. "He's so...interesting...sly...debonair...patient...intelligent...wise...laid-back..." **

**She jumped up to practice her pacing. **

**"And why did his sense of humor just have to be so perfect on top of everything else? URGH!" Certain her neurons were screaming in agony, Cara decided it was time for a shower. **

**Normally she detested water when she first woke up, but this day was NOT going well. Might as well add to her suffering!**

**The shower didn't help. Much whining, grousing, fuming and sighing ensued. Pacing got more practice.**

**Which, oddly, also didn't help.**

**Finally, she wound her snit down and decided to make a plan. She named it "avoidance". **

**She instinctively avoided getting too close to anyone, but especially to emotionally attractive guys. She had no problems admiring from afar since it helped keep her from becoming too involved. **

**Romantic entanglements never failed to fail miserably and always led to someone getting their heart stomped on, ripped out, ground up and buried. And besides, with **_**her**_** history?**

**No thank you. Been there, done that, wore out the T-shirt and threw it away. "Love" was nothing more than a glorified power struggle.**

**"So why," she pondered dejectedly, "do I keep remembering the smoldering heat in his beautiful eyes? That delicious dark leather and pine scent of his? His incredible intelligence and humor and sly wit? And why did I **_**keep**_** dreaming about his dark burning gaze?" **

**Maybe she should buy him a pair of sunglasses.**

**No, this was not going to be a great day.**

**Her job search resulted in a rather good sketch of his strong jaw line.**

**Her kitchen floor was swept and mopped to the unintentional recollection of the timbre of his rich, velvet voice soothing over her skin.**

**She over-watered her plants to the memory of his cool, strong hands on her shoulders and her cheek against his broad, hard chest.**

**Dusting was vaguely accomplished to the memory of his strong, handsome, young face.**

**He might have initially appeared to be a teenager just aged into manhood, but from memory, she **_**knew**_** he was indeed a man full grown.**

**She had no problem with his appearing younger than she did. She had no problem with his being a vampire. She had many problems with the way her heart looked at him.**

**When he left, she hadn't wanted him to go, but she was desperate for him to leave. It was an awful feeling. He didn't act like he wanted to leave, either.**

**Giving into the memories on purpose this time, she flopped back on her bed and sighed as she cherished the feeling of his cool hands cupping her cheeks as he said his goodbyes. The phrase "parting is such sweet sorrow" ghosted through her mind as she remembered the longing in his eyes as he gazed down into her face, his thumbs stroking and soothing over her skin. Her heart still thrummed in delicious anticipation at his promise to "call upon" her again soon.**

**Cara exhaled sharply as she re-clarified her course of action: determined avoidance accomplished by deflection.**

**She couldn't afford to get involved with anyone. Instead of longing for what she couldn't have, she had to focus on what she needed. Necessity trumped want every time. She needed a decent job. She needed insurance. She needed to keep it together, and she needed to pick up some milk.**

**Maybe he hadn't been as much into her as she thought. Maybe she was reading all the signals wrong? She'd been known to do that before. Maybe he wasn't really looking at her "**_**like that**_**" at all - maybe he was near-sighted? Far-sighted? Could a vampire have bad vision? **

**Except...there was no mistaking the intent in his eyes. When he focused on her, she could absolutely feel it. **

**Her memory skipped back to the one part of the evening that she really didn't want to remember. In retrospect, she thought she really ought to have been more frightened than she'd been at the time. Those were some pretty intense moments, but in the end, nothing had happened. **

**During her brief research into their culture she'd found vague mentions about vampire instincts, but even then she could tell that the articles barely skimmed over the facts about their real nature. She didn't know why, but at the time of the "almost oops" as she was calling it, she hadn't felt like she was in true danger. In the end, he was much more shaken about the whole thing than she was.**

**Until she'd managed to lighten up the situation, he really had looked...agonized...about the whole thing. His hands had even been shaking.**

**Yes, she admitted to herself miserably, he was definitely interested in her, and yes, she was definitely interested in him, too. **

**He was such a wonderful conversationalist. Intelligence, humor, kindness, and wit were extremely sexy in her book, and he had them in glorious spades. She didn't know how long he'd been a vampire, but she guessed by all the knowledge he possessed he must be pretty old. **

**The tantalizing references he'd dropped about some of the places he'd been and history he'd seen were addictive. When he found out she was interested in such things, more curious tidbits of information followed...almost as if he were dangling the proverbial carrot before her nose. Seductive, devious male...**

**She'd artfully dodged his more personal questions and observations, and there **_**had**_** been quite a few indications that he wanted to get to know her better. She still wondered how he managed to get her to give him her phone number. Oh, yeah, he'd mentioned that Isabel wanted it... **

**He seemed more than willing to talk about vampires in general, which had helped keep the conversation flowing quite nicely. She hoped, though, that he'd gotten the point that her privacy was her own.**

**But in the end, it didn't matter. Her current problems combined with her trust issues and her commitment issues and...yeah, it wasn't going to work. Sure, she'd miss hearing him talk in his warm, soothing voice about the places he'd been...and the history he'd seen...and the fascinating, sometimes funny, things he'd done. Of course she'd miss his wicked sense of humor and the way his burning-blue eyes sparkled with devilry and wit. **

**But, she knew that if she were lucky, he'd figure out for himself how unlikely a pair they'd make and that would be the last of him. **

**So why did her pulse quicken come dark?**


	8. Chapter 8

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 8~**

(Godric's pacifist nature...)

Godric woke his usual four hours before sunset. He normally cherished the quiet and solitude he found in the late afternoons when those living on his estate were still quietly dead for the day. This was time he could spend researching, thinking, strategizing, reading, tracking his immense wealth, checking up on his multitude of business ventures, whittling (a relaxing, contemplative habit acquired eons ago) his ancient designs...

But not today. This day, he awoke once again filled with the strangest feeling: purpose. He remembered awakening with this same odd feeling the afternoon before, only it was even stronger now. For decades, maybe even centuries, he had been losing interest in his unlife. His nights had slowly slipped into a dull, predictable, numbing routine.

The only recent bright spot had been turning his child Isabel. But at almost a century old now, she no longer required his constant supervision and was in fact his most reliable subordinate.

His position of power brought little but annoyance and boring responsibility, although he had managed to delegate the most irritating duties to his underlings.

Still, he knew he should be enjoying his unlife more than he was. He knew his muted response to things that had once brought him pleasure should have concerned him, but he did not care enough to...care.

Things were sharply different now. Instantly he knew the cause: Cara.

He had managed to learn enough about her during his too-short visit to know that she was quite singular, thoroughly charming, and endlessly inquisitive. Although her life experience could never match his own, her quick intellect was rather impressive. He envisioned himself spending decades talking with her, sharing stories and teaching her from his vast storehouse of experience and knowledge.

He wondered why she was so reluctant to talk about herself, though. She was a uniquely genuine person, yet she dodged, deflected, and diverted his more personal questions with the sheer mastery of a spy.

Naturally this intrigued him even further. He was still faintly amazed that she had finally given him her telephone number...for Isabel, of course. He loved solving a mystery however, and this mystery came in a disarmingly attractive package.

He closed his eyes and relaxed into his soft pillows as he considered her many pleasing attributes: selfless courage, entrancing face, captivating scent, luscious body, quick intelligence, delightful curiosity, charming humor, lively personality, soft, furry voice...

A wry smile grazed his lips as he shook his head. If he did not know full well that such things were nigh on impossible, as well as blatantly dangerous, for his kind, he would almost fear he was falling in love with the human female. He would consider the ramifications of this...slight possibility...at a later time.

He resolutely switched his thoughts to more pressing issues.

Godric regretted being unable to visit with his Cara this new night, but decisions needed to be made and plans needed to be enacted. He would allow Isabel to visit in his stead; she wanted to thank the lovely human herself, as she ought. He would not _command_ her to speak well of him, he smirked to himself, but if complimentary words were spoken on his behalf, he found he would not mind one bit.

Isabel had a soft way about her, but she had an iron fist beneath a velvet glove. He would speak with her, and advise her of what she should discuss with the lovely human. Maybe she might be more forthcoming with information to his child?

He needed Isabel to attempt to bring her closer to his side, and eventually to his estate. He needed to protect her from the unpredictable Weres, but he did not wish to scare her or force her to come to his home unless it became absolutely necessary for her own safety.

He wanted her to come to him of her own free will. He wished he could sit and speak with her again, but he could not do so this night. Frustrating news had been waiting for him upon his return the previous night.

Scott had successfully tracked the escaping Weres to a pack house several blocks away, but when he and several others had returned that next night, they discovered that the pack had completely vacated the residence. This strongly suggested the attack on his child was premeditated, not opportunistic. Weres were not known for intelligent planning; they were much more reactionary. A blown assignment meant they would give into their fear and instinctively scatter.

Weres in general were notoriously vicious, rude, violent, and vindictive. There were actually two kinds of Weres. The majority of them were indeed "filthy" - rude, vicious, irrational, reeking of violence. The rare kind, the kind he himself had employed a few times, were "clean" - more rational, dependable, less...malodorous. However, both breeds were exceptionally strong, aggressive, ruthless fighters.

Godric sighed as he realized that he would have to contact the one "clean" pack he knew. He did not relish this decision. It was not so much that he despised the pack; it was their lack of refinement which irritated him beyond belief. They were a loud, boisterous, obnoxious pack of braggarts with a truly fetid stench. They were much better disciplined (and less malodorous) than the filthy packs, and were just as savage and aggressive in battle.

His child had fought admirably against their attack but they had still incapacitated her. That Cara, a small, weak, inexperienced human female, had managed to kill one of them and completely incapacitate another still amazed him. That two of the Weres had escaped, and knew her scent, infuriated him. This, combined with their unprovoked attack on his child, meant the Weres were dead. It was just a matter of time and method. His eyes burned with a cold, calculating midnight blue.

He was a pacifist by recent choice. A couple centuries ago he had begun re-evaluating his unlife, re-assessing the choices and decisions he made and the resulting consequences. Although he knew why he had made his decisions in the past, he had finally realized that there had to be a better way, a different way of achieving his goals.

During his first few centuries of undeath, feral cruelty, viciousness, and unfettered slaughter were his norm. He reveled in his amazing new strengths and talents, and delighted in the bloodiest of warfare.

After finally killing his Maker, he slowly eased away from such unnecessary brutality. He began to kill more kindly, and less frequently. He chose better whose side he fought for in battles, and instigated fewer wars. For a long while he thought such changes were enough. But he had yet to develop anything near a heart or a conscience.

Still more centuries had to pass until he slowly discovered that being so cold-blooded, so unfeeling and uncaring about the pain and suffering he caused, was no longer...acceptable. He had finally started locating his conscience.

He did not mind living as a pacifist...until someone he cared for was in danger. A ripple slithered down his spine as he instinctively recalled his warrior training. His cold blood warmed and his fangs erupted with the need for vindication as he remembered the terrible wounds inflicted upon his child, his _daughter_. His hands clinched as his fingers hardened into claws with the memory of her pain and the scent of her spilled blood, yet his heart swelled with understandable pride in her strength in enduring that horrible night. His daughter was made of grace and strength and had an excellent character. He had never once regretted bringing her over.

And those Weres had seen his Cara, and knew her scent.

It was time for war.

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****If you like it, let me know! I love reviews, and my muses are starving! **


	9. Chapter 9

****Author's Note****

**I had dental surgery committed against me yesterday, and then my allergies (magically?) activated in full vicious force. Long story short, I really hope this chapter makes sense. I had most of it already finished, and wanted to get it out to you all, though, so here it is. See also: owie. Lortab + writing...I sure hope I don't read this later and start banging my head against the wall. That'd just be even more owie.**

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon. Warning: there may be even more mistakes in this chapter than normal.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 9~**

(Isabel shares some information...)

Godric didn't show. Cara wasn't sure if she was relieved or upset; though she guessed it didn't really matter in the long run. Godric didn't show.

Surprisingly enough, the vampire knocking on her door an hour after sunset was Isabel. She duly apologized for not calling before dropping by, but said that she wanted to personally thank the human for her help and kindness. Cara happily invited the vampiress into her apartment, and tried not to show her disappointment when she found out that Isabel was alone.

She was exceptionally glad to note that Isabel was completely recovered from her horrible ordeal, and said as much. This naturally led to a long discussion of vampire healing powers (amazing), which led to a nice discussion of other vampire powers (there were many but there was no guarantee that a vampire would receive or develop any), which led to a discussion of...many, many other things.

They had a very nice, very long, very informative visit, and not once did Cara get the feeling that Isabel was politely snooping for information. Much.

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

Isabel found herself unexpectedly at ease with Cara. She owed this human her life and was glad to show her more respect than what she would normally give a human, but she was very pleasantly surprised with how effortless it was to relax around her.

As a general rule, vampires felt it necessary to shield themselves behind a stoic, unemotional facade, but it was surprisingly easy to lower her shields around this human. There was something heart-warmingly genuine about her.

She had been strongly requested (_tasked_, really) by her Maker to furtively gather what information she could about Cara and to politely answer all questions asked of her. The first request was a bit surprising. The second? Absolutely shocking. Vampires were incredibly secretive by nature, choice, and necessity.

She wondered if Cara suspected that she was trying to gather information for Godric, but if she did, she said nothing. She just dodged her questions like a pro. After a while, Isabel gave up trying to pry anything out of her, and just settled into the lively conversation.

Although she tried to hide it, Isabel quickly realized Cara was interested in Godric. She may not have asked many questions about him, but when Isabel would slyly bring his name into the conversation, her eyes would sparkle a bit more and her focus would sharpen. Another human may not have noticed such minute reactions, but Isabel did.

It didn't take Isabel long to understand Godric's curiosity about the lovely female, either. She was bright, inquisitive, intelligent, funny, kind, and definitely attractive. Even so, she had never known her Master to take such an active interest in anyone. Interesting...

During all the time she'd known him, he'd never shown a penchant for "pets". During her earlier years he'd had a few very casual companions, but he hadn't been at all close to them. Mostly he would satisfy his natural feed and fuck tendencies discreetly, though rarely of late. From what Isabel knew of her Maker, she was inclined to believe that he'd never actually been seriously involved with anyone.

A few of his oldest acquaintances had hinted vaguely about his much wilder centuries, but they were only in their 500's and 600's, so they didn't know him from _way_ back when.

Godric was well over 2000 years old, probably more like 2100 years old she guessed, so there was much that no one knew about him. From what had been hinted, Godric used to be an extremely live wire: hungry, amorous, fierce, almost savage. He'd been quite..._untamed._

Though she had to admit that, even to her, he was an enigma. The Godric _she_ knew was peaceful, calm, kind, a bit reserved, and considerate of both humans and vampires.

He radiated massive but restrained power, and was never cruel or thoughtless. His punishments were always just, and tended to be merciful when possible. He would never abuse his power or authority, and rarely raised hand. He rarely raised his voice, either, for there was hardly ever any need. When he entered a room, everyone just seemed to know that he was a force to be reckoned with, and automatically deferred to him. Few were the fools who chose to disrespect Godric.

She had witnessed the rare times when he or one of his own was threatened. Such challengers did not fared well. Although Godric did not condone unnecessary violence and preferred to live peacefully, he could quite quickly become a terrifying force of nature.

Isabel wondered exactly how forthright she should to Cara. Godric had told her to truthfully answer all questions, but she did not wish to frighten the girl or overwhelm her with too much information. Also, there were just some things he would need to answer himself should such issues arise.

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

It was amazing how often the topic returned to Godric. Cara didn't know if her interest in him was that obvious, or if that's just how the conversation happened to go, but either way, the information she gained during the conversation made her very happy...and curious to learn more.

She was rather proud of her restraint in not asking all the billions of questions buzzing around in her head. She did discover quite a bit of relevant and interesting information about both vampires in general and Godric in specific. Some things were kind of hard to take in, though.

"So, each state has a king or a queen? And that monarch literally controls all the vampires in their state, with fealty and everything? Seriously? " This just seemed preposterous. Really? A feudal system of vampire politics in America, in THIS day and age?

"Yes, seriously," Isabel nodded as she chuckled. "And believe it or not, the system here is much more relaxed and moderate than in Europe and Asia. There, vampire kings and queens do not treat humans with nearly as much...dignity...as they do here. Godric was asked to help reform the old laws and customs here to provide a much more tolerant way of life."

"Why was he involved? When did this happen?"

"Along with several other very old vampires, Godric was chosen because of his vast experience and intelligence, and also because of his understanding and tolerance of humans. He is one of the oldest and most respected vampires living in the Americas. He was invited to head the development and implementation of the new order because of his respected standing in the vampire hierarchy. He redefined the responsibilities and privileges of the American monarchies, and he helped create a new, more moderate, governing system." Isabel sounded rightfully proud of her Maker.

"Although he could not erase the old customs, he did manage to bring them more up to date. The vampire hierarchy could tell as early as the 1900's that the old, intolerant, ways were no longer effective. At the time, our greatest objective was to avoid detection, but we knew that with changes in the human world, and the advent of modern technologies, this would not be possible for very much longer. The Council was created to help ensure our survival in this new age of technology." Isabel paused to sip her True Blood and give Cara a chance to voice any questions.

Cara nodded her head and she digested this new information. She wasn't surprised to learn that Godric was so incredibly respected. He seemed to have a very calm persona, but even in her inexperienced humanity she could sense that his laid-back facade hid vast power. There was something beautifully, sadly ancient in his eyes. Well, until his mischievous side surfaced, at any rate...

"This is a lot to take in, honestly. I'm still shocked that there are kings and queens here in America, ya know? Why do vampires need monarchies like this?"

"I understand your reaction. If it seems feudal, that's because it is. Our system of government is actually much more modern than it was even before the Great Reveal."

"It was worse?"

"Oh, yes. In times past, a king or queen had complete control over not only every vampire in their state, but over the humans, too. The humans just didn't know this. That concept trickled down to every vampire. If a vampire wanted a human, he or she just took the human, no questions asked. Most times glamour was used to keep the humans from causing problems, but often, the human was simply either drained during feeding, or killed when no longer useful. To an extent, some of the old rules do still apply. No matter how evolved some of us are, there will always be vampires who don't want to mainstream, who want to lord it over less powerful vampires and, of course, humans."

Isabel paused to ponder her next words. She didn't want to scare the human, but the human needed to know some of the harsher realities of their world. Godric has specifically instructed her to make sure that Cara knew some of the more unfortunate facts.

"Vampires are a very strong, stubborn, willful species. We just are. Whichever personality traits were strongest in us when we were human become much stronger when we're turned. If we had a specific talent or ability, like dancing or accounting, it becomes a stronger talent or ability after turning. The same goes for aggression or greed or lascivious behavior. Fighting and torture, theft and war were not uncommon. So, a strong-willed society needs strong-willed rulers. Our kings and queens must be able to control the wildest among us to help ensure our survival. In times past, that meant doing what had to be done to keep us undetected as a species. Now, it means doing what is necessary to make us appear less-threatening to help with the mainstreaming movement. The more "in control" we seem, the less threatening we appear to the public at large."

"Our laws will seem brutal to you," Isabel continued. "Although they aren't as archaic as they used to be, and still are in some parts of the world, still, they are different that what you are accustomed to."

"Like what?" Cara dared to ask, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Well, depending on the offense, punishments can range from taking all of a vampire's assets, including their humans, to being chained for a determined amount of time in silver, pulling one or both of a vampire's fangs, amputating anything from one finger to a whole limb..." Isabel's voice faltered when she noticed the blood draining from Cara's face.

"I'm sorry, Cara. I know this must sound very brutal to you, but you have to remember, vampires tend to be brutal creatures. Some would argue that it's in our nature, while others, like Godric, feel that such brutality exists only because of a lack of self-discipline."

Cara cleared her throat and sipped her coffee. "One of those nature versus nurture things?"

"Yes. If we teach our young ones self-control, and if we can show the benefits of restraint, or at least of living quietly, to our older vampires, then we are more likely to be able to live within the current global society. But if we fail to evolve, then our place in this world is not assured."

"That makes sense. If we let ourselves run amok, then we get used to acting out of control, and our behavior will get worse and worse because "worse" becomes the norm," Cara thought aloud, continuing with the ideas still zinging around in her head. "But if we retain some dignity, and don't allow ourselves to follow our basest instincts or our lowest urges, then our standards of behavior would have to elevate beyond the base level."

"Exactly!" Exclaimed Isabel. "That is exactly what many of us believe. If we hold ourselves to a higher standard, we will not only act better, but _be_ better in the long run."

"So, let me see if I have this right. Before the 1900's, vampires were still living under the radar, but they tended to be wild and brutal, fighting amongst themselves, stealing and killing humans when and where they wanted, just doing it quietly. Then, a group of y'all got together and figured out that you couldn't keep living like that because of changes in the human world, mainly technology, so y'all created a council made up of several old vampires. The purpose of this council was to change how the kings and queens ruled, make the laws more modern, and to try to change the old customs that no longer worked in the changing human world. Am I on track so far?"

Isabel nodded, unaccountably proud of her new...friend? Vampires didn't make friends very easily or often. She thought perhaps this Cara would, indeed, make a nice friend, even if she was human.

"And because Godric is so old, respected and wise, he was chosen along with several others to revamp the vamp political system to bring it up-to-date, and to try to help change the old customs because they just didn't work in the modern world..." Cara couldn't help but grin at her play on words.

Isabel surprised herself by snickering along with the human.

"How old is Godric, anyway?" Cara astonished them both by finally asking.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he's between 2000 and 2100 years old."

Cara's mouth actually fell open in stunned disbelief. She felt it, but couldn't stop it.

"Uh...um..." She cleared her throat, then tried again. "Two...two _THOUSAND_ years old? Over _TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD_?" Geez, she thought, I hope he had good life insurance.

She decided her empty coffee cup needed filling.


	10. Chapter 10

****Author's Note****

I would like to thank all of the people who've favorited, followed and reviewed my little-but-growing first story! Y'all are FANGTASTIC, and I appreciate every one of you. Thank you for taking time out of your day to share the love - it is very much appreciated. Now on to the bla bla bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". (There...wasn't that simple?) There is pretty much nothing cannon about this story.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 10~**

**(Godric makes a plan)**

Instead of visiting Cara himself, Godric sent his child. He had serious matters needing his attention, certainly, but he also knew Isabel wanted to thank Cara personally for her help.

That Isabel was also practically gifted when it came to gathering information was indeed a bonus, but she also seemed to genuinely like the human above and beyond mere gratitude.

True friendships were difficult for his child to find or maintain. Unfortunately it was not uncommon for a vampire to attempt to use her to get close to him because of his power. Thankfully Isabel had an innate distrust of such posers.

Godric was not surprised that his child seemed taken with Cara. He had "raised" her to have more respect and tolerance for humans than most vampires naturally did, so developing a friendship with the lovely human would perhaps be easy for her. With no small pride, he also knew his child was deft at explaining ideas and concepts, so it only made sense that he would send her over with instructions to help the human understand more of their world.

Cara handled their conversation from the night before quite well. Never once did she seem overwhelmed or frightened, even when perhaps she should have been. The broad overview of "the vampire world", as she called it, had gone quite smoothly. He hoped Isabel would smoothly guide the conversation into more specific areas.

Plus, he was not entirely sure he could actually trust himself to be around Cara...alone. This was one of those times when discretion was definitely the better part of valor. Her enchanting scent, those lively eyes, that mischievous grin, those full, firm breasts... Yes, a brief retreat was definitely in order. Godric grimaced as he remembered his surprising reaction.

So, he had sent in his child. Although Isabel did not verbally question his willingness to share their secrets with a human, he knew she was right to be curious about intentionally sharing such things with Cara. Secrecy was a basic tenet of the undead world; it was engrained into every vampire upon their first rising.

The truths of their world had to be kept silent, guarded from those who would search them out and destroy them. But, if he wanted Cara to know and understand his reality, there were many things she would need to know. Perhaps if she understood his world, it would be easier for her to understand him, too? It seemed peculiar to him that he would crave her understanding.

Puzzled by an odd urge to feed, Godric strode to the kitchen to warm himself a bottle of blood. He knew his need to feed was not due for several more weeks, but had felt his thirst growing when he rose that afternoon. As an ancient vampire, actual thirst was rare.

As he sat down behind his desk and raised his bottle of warmed blood to his lips, he considered the possible results of the visit between his child and Cara. He trusted his child to respect the human, and to ease her into the sordid mess that was vampire politics and customs. He hoped she would not delve _too_ deeply into the less savory aspects, especially the most arcane customs regarding humans. He personally did not hold with treating humans as mere objects or assets to be owned and sternly controlled, but he knew that many older vampires still believed in the old ways.

Unfortunately, if things progressed as he found himself hoping, Cara would eventually have to be made aware of some of the more barbaric, archaic traditions. However, _he_ wanted to be the one to describe them to her so that he could immediately reassure her that he did not agree with treating humans as controlled, humiliated, subservient pets.

The longer he could delay her knowledge of the distasteful side of vampire customs, the better. As brave as she was, and as independent as she appeared, she still seemed extremely skittish. He was determined to know why.

He pushed the empty bottle of blood aside with a grimace. He swore cat piss smelled better. The thought of using a donor was oddly just as unappealing.

Thankfully, Isabel was a highly skilled interrogator; he wished her better results with Cara than he, himself, had enjoyed. A wry grin passed his firm lips as he remembered his own surprisingly less-than-successful attempts. The clever human seemed especially skilled in avoidance and diversionary tactics when it came to talking about herself. He wondered how their visit was progressing.

Was Cara laughing in that warm, velvet tone? Were her eyes sparkling as she said something witty or charming? Were her plump, pink lips curved up in a sweet smile or were they pursed in thought? Were her dark brows slightly drawn together as she considered her next words? Were her luminous, deep brown eyes focused and sharp as she asked a probing question, or were they unfocused and slightly dreamy as she contemplated possibilities? Was her scent as luscious and enthralling tonight as it was...

He shifted to rearrange the uncomfortably large bulge tenting his pants. He hoped he could soon carve enough time for another visit but he wondered if he should dare.

Shaking his head, Godric determinedly focused his attention on the more urgent subject of the disappearing Were pack. When he had returned from Cara's home the previous night, he discovered from Scott that the pack had vanished. The house they had inhabited was deserted and there were no clues as to their current location.

Resolutely, he contacted the MoonTracker packmaster. His previous dealings with this less-disgusting pack were satisfactory, and he had a tolerable working relationship with their packmaster, DesChamps. He charged DesChamps with locating the now missing Weres, and hoped he could discover why they attacked his child, assuming it had nothing to do with his position on the Council.

As Weres were well known for providing adequate security, he arranged with DesChamps to provide daytime protection for his estate, and for Cara. That two of the Weres who attacked his child were loose was a serious matter; that they knew Cara's scent was a risk he refused to take.

Until this situation was resolved to his satisfaction, he would provide Cara with round-the-clock security. Already Ryan was hidden in place as her nighttime guard; installing Weres to watch over her during the daytime hours only made sense. Her knowledge of such precautions was not necessary.

He leaned back in his desk chair as he contemplated Cara's probable reaction to such measures. Possibly she would not object, but he doubted it. He suspected she had a temper, but she was also intelligent. He promptly decided she would understand the necessity of his measures.

She would be glorious in her temper, though. His lids lowered and his muscles tensed as he considered how her eyes would flash and how her cheeks would redden. His eyes gleamed and his fangs erupted as he envisioned how her scent would grow stronger, how her breath would quicken and her heart would pound...

Fuck. Already he wanted another bath.

Gervaise interrupted his musings as he knocked then entered Godric's office. "Here are the latest reports on the situation between Iago and Wilhelm," he handed over a rather thick folder, "and this is the data available on that annoying human rights group." This folder was handed over with a sneer.

Godric sighed to himself. Gervaise truly had no use for humans other than feeding and fucking. At a little less than 300 years old, he had learned how to subdue his baser tendencies, and his organizational skills were exceptional. That was apparently his only undeath gift, but he was valuable because of it.

"Thank you, Gervaise. If the Were DesChamps calls or comes by, notify me immediately. You are dismissed." Gervaise bowed slightly and left.

At least the underling knew how to behave toward his elders, Godric mentally noted as he reached for the Iago/Wilhelm folder. Poor Iago. He admired his restraint. He knew exactly how much Iago would enjoy eviscerating the stubborn, smarmy, sanctimonious Wilhelm.

Fifteen minutes later, Godric suddenly dropped the folder, sat up straight, and grabbed his cell phone. After finishing his brief call, he immediately made a list, contacted his night man, and sent him on his errands. Then he called a mandatory staff meeting to commence in four hours. Scott and Alaric might have returned from their investigations by then.

Cara would have called Godric's intensely self-satisfied smirk wickedly attractive. Those who knew him better would have called it devious.

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**Love it? Hate it? Let me know! **


	11. Chapter 11

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 11~**

**(Cara's reaction )**

Cara couldn't believe it. _2000...2100 years old?!_ _How_ _was that even possible?_ Damn!

She would have to think about this later when she wasn't being so closely observed by the vampiress sitting across her kitchen table. So far this evening she'd felt like Isabel was watching her for more than just the sake of conversation, as if she were paying closer attention to her expressions than normal, but wondered if that wasn't just a vampire thing. Godric had done the exact same thing, only with him she'd kept expecting him to pull out a magnifying glass.

She still held out faint hope that Isabel hadn't notice her total freak-out, but gave that up when Isabel asked if she was ok.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I'm fine. It's just absolutely amazing that someone could live _that_ long. I mean, yeah, I gathered that he'd been around a long time, but I didn't want to ask him just how old he was. That would have been rude. Can you imagine the history he's seen? The changes along the way that he, himself, might have caused down through time?"

Making another cup of coffee helped calm her down a bit. 2000+ years old! Maybe...

"He's certainly witnessed a lot of history, and has many interesting stories to tell. I believe that his exposure to so _much_ change is what has enabled his own transition. Vampires by nature rarely change, and if they do, it's generally not to improve themselves. If anything, they become even less tolerant and thoughtful. This is one of the many reasons Godric is unique, and much of an enigma. That he has seen so much time pass, and has lived through so much change...I would say it's certainly one of the many reasons he's so much more considerate and tolerant of humans than the vast majority of vampires tend to be." Isabel took a sip of her synthetic blood and bravely suppressed her grimace.

"I was kind of wondering about that. Last night he made a point to tell me how very different from humans vampires are, and how so many of them just plain don't like humans, yet he didn't seem mean or vicious or secretive or any of the other negative things he was telling me about." Isabel wondered about the look that passed briefly over Cara's face.

"When you've had a chance to study other vampires, it'll be obvious to you how very different Godric really is."

Cara studiously studied her coffee cup. "How so?"

Isabel struggled to hide her triumphant grin. "He's incredibly wise, thoughtful, and kind. I could not have asked for a better Maker. His intelligence and self-control are, literally, legendary. Like all males, of course, he can be somewhat clueless and impatient, but in terms of vampires, he's exceptionally understanding and patient, very considerate and astute. He's especially observant. Although he only shows it on extremely rare occasions, he also has an incredible sense of humor..." She paused when Cara giggled...and blushed.

"What?" Isabel just had to know.

"Godric is...awful!" Cara laughed out loud. Isabel raised an eyebrow...exactly like Godric did...which made Cara laugh even harder. "You got that from Godric, didn't you," she accused the now widely grinning Isabel.

"I got _what_ from my Maker?" Cara's humor proved contagious.

"That quirky eyebrow! He nailed me with it a couple of times last night while we were joking around."

Godric was actually _"joking around"_ and allowing _emotions_ to show on his normally impassive face?Isabel was truly surprised.

Noting Isabel's surprise, Cara explained further. "We talked about a lot of vampire stuff, but, yeah, we laughed and joked around a lot, too. The man has a wicked sense of humor when he gets started."

Interesting...very, _very_ interesting, thought Isabel. I think I like where this is going.

"But anyway," Cara attempted to refocus the conversation, "has he always been the way he is now? I mean, he's so old, he had to have changed some."

Isabel seriously contemplated her answer for few moments. "No, he hasn't always been as he is now. From what he's told me, and from what I've gathered from older vampires and legends, he was completely ...different... when he was much younger."

Isabel leaned forward to emphasize her point. "Cara, you must know this. First and foremost, Godric is vampire. His nature has indeed evolved, but...if there is a fight, Godric will win. In his past, he was _completely_ different than he is now. He was...feral. He might not be as tall and as obviously muscular as males generally are in these days, but he is an amazingly strong, frighteningly vicious fighter. Vampire strengths and abilities increase with age, and he is very old. His cunning and courage are renowned." Isabel paused for a moment, then resolutely continued.

"All the words you would use to describe the negative aspects of a vampire did apply to him: he _was_ vicious, ferocious, cunning, crafty, shrewd, ruthless, extremely...carnal, brutal, devious...and that's why his evolution is so amazing." Isabel toyed with the bottle in her hand. "But if these traits were needed this night, he could revert to his old self in the blink of an eye. He chooses to walk a much higher road than his original nature would have suggested, but that doesn't mean the old Godric is gone. This other part of his personality is just ever so much stronger now."

Cara nodded. "So, basically, he's like everyone else."

Isabel shook her head, clearly not understanding the correlation.

"The way I see it, every day each one of us has a choice. We can either choose to follow a higher, kinder, more considerate path, or we can choose to follow a lower, crass, destructive path. It sounds to me like Godric has made a conscious choice to follow a better, more noble, path rather than allowing his baser instincts to rule."

Isabel nodded, pleased the human seemed to instinctively grasp these concepts.

"But," continued Cara, "just because we choose to allow the better parts of our nature to show through doesn't mean we lose touch with our baser instincts. They're always there, ready to take over if we need them or if we lose touch with the better parts of ourselves. Just because Godric has chosen to live a lighter, cleaner life doesn't mean that his darker nature suddenly went on a permanent vacation. That part of him, that part of all of us, is always running around in the background. It's just not loose until or unless we need it."

Isabel couldn't wait to report to Godric. This human's understanding of the world was centuries, not decades, old.

Isabel's phone rang and surprised everyone. Cara was amazed as she watched Isabel answer her phone before the first ring had barely sounded.

"Absolutely, Master," were the only words spoken during the brief conversation, and they were spoken with twinkling eyes and a very pleased smile on the vampiress' face, although apparently vampires didn't waste time saying "goodbye". Godric hadn't covered phone manners during his very brief description of vampire etiquette.

"Cara, what do you have planned for tomorrow evening?"

"Erm, nothing, why?" Cara wondered what was going on - her instincts were screaming that something suspicious was suddenly up...

"Godric has something he wishes to discuss with you, and has extended an invitation for you to spend the evening with us." Sensing Cara's reluctance, Isabel quietly explained, "This is indeed an honor, my friend. If Godric is requesting your presence, then you should seriously consider going. He and I will both personally assure your safety and comfort. We also need to know what's going on with the Were situation."

For a moment, an unexpectedly serious, focused expression drifted over Cara's normally sweet, cheerful face. Her eyes seemed to belie her age. But in the same instant, the fleeting change was gone.

"So Godric wants to see me tomorrow night, huh? What time, and do you have any idea what it's about?"

"He suggested 9:00 pm, so I will come for you at..." Isabel's voice drifted off as Cara started shaking her head.

"Oh, there's no need to put yourself out like that. Just leave me the directions and I'll be fine." Cara's voice could sound quite firm when she wanted.

As Isabel started to object, Cara grinned. "Hey, I have a car and I know how to use it! I can drive and chew gum and tie my own shoes and everything! Seriously, it's no problem," she laughingly insisted.

Isabel knew that further insistence would not only be rude but perhaps cause the human to change her mind about coming at all, so a strategic retreat was definitely in order.

After writing down directions and chatting casually for another little while, Isabel departed for her car after surreptitiously checking Ryan's location. She had a great deal of information she was eager to share with her impatient Maker.

Cara realized too late that Isabel had "neglected" to tell her what the first part of the meeting was about.

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o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o

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Isabel quickly located Godric after she arrived home. As usual, he was in his study delving into Council business: rectifying large-scale disputes, studying laws to judge their modernity and rewriting laws as needed, and researching ways to bring vampire society forward. His face immediately shifted from utter boredom to eager interest when he saw her.

"Have you a tale to tell, my child," he enquired with rapt attention. He certainly hoped she had lots of new information to share regarding Cara.

"Knowledge of your age seemed to draw a particular reaction," Isabel understated to Godric. "It wasn't a negative reaction, either. She was very interested in your number of years on this earth." She hurriedly assured her suddenly pensive Maker. "If anything, this information seemed to please her, but I could find no context for such a reaction."

Godric subconsciously tilted his head as he pondered this. He was accustomed to receiving respect and awe in regards to his age, but pleasure and interest in the number? He did not understand these reactions. This odd confusion, however, seemed par for the course concerning Cara.

Godric found that Isabel had indeed covered a lot of information in her discussion with Cara, and had represented his interests quite well, but at the end of her report he felt no closer to understanding Cara than he had the previous night. Although he was disappointed that Isabel had not been able to discover much concrete information about the human, he was not surprised, either. Cara was very clever. But, then, he already knew that.

Just as he already knew that his humor pleased her, as he already knew that she was astute, charming, and could turn serious in one of her heartbeats... Her satisfaction regarding his age was indeed puzzling, though.

At least his plan might help solve some of the mysteries surrounding her. The level of his anticipation for the next night surprised even him.

Finally, it was time for the meeting. His underlings knew how he expected them to behave, but he wanted to go over a few matters anyway, and reinforce a few rules.

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o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o

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_Trapped in his enigmatic gaze, her heart beating strong and fast, Cara didn't, couldn't, move as his face slowly lowered to hers. Mere inches separated them when he stopped, his eyes burning blue, his lips parting to expose his gleaming fangs, his nostrils flaring as he reveled in her scent. Godric's hands were firm and cool with one cradling her head, the other around her waist in a vice-like grip, as he leaned her back. Slightly off-balance, her hands moved of their own volition, fingers grazing over his taut nipple as she slid one hand up his hard chest, the other hand grasping his upper arm, fingers clawing into his rigid muscles. His gaze seared into hers as his dark scent deliciously warmed all those secret places she'd been trying to forget even existed. Instinctively she knew she should be frightened of those long, sharp fangs, but the sight of them only added to the dark desire flooding her highly-strung system. _

_This was it, she thought as her breath hitched and her heart sped. The heated look in his eyes told her that this was the only out he was going to give her. After this, she would be his, and she had to choose now. Yes...or no..._

Fucking alarm clock.

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**I tried to make this chapter a bit longer...hope it read well! Love it? Hate it? Let me know! **

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	12. Chapter 12

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 12~**

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**(Cara's first visit)**

Cara learned several new things about Godric that night. His estate really was an estate. He appreciated the finer things in unlife: fine furnishing, textiles and spacious unliving. He had an appreciation for modern electronics. And he was not what she had expected.

His "estate"... really was an estate. It was huge. There was a large, extremely well-stocked library (Godric's) with separate comfortable reading areas, a large study (also Godric's) with two small and two large sofas and several chairs and tables, and several offices apparently belonging to his people.

The very formal, richly appointed living room (salon? parlor?) was obviously used only for high-class entertaining and matched well with the also very formal, also richly appointed, dining room (What were vampires going to do with a formal dining room? Cara wasn't sure she really wanted to know.). The huge "eat in" kitchen, complete with all higher-end appliances, had its own computer/home management desk space, and was connected to an enormous living area complete with chairs, sofas, end tables, two of the largest-screened tv's she'd ever seen, a pool table, and a small bar area which actually appeared to be stocked with something other than blood.

That was just the downstairs. His estate... mansion... whatever... was huge.

During the tour, Godric casually mentioned that the second floor was all light-tight bedroom suites with a couple of "conversation alcoves" and a smaller kitchen/dining area of its own. Apparently the entire estate was light-tight...which earned Godric a delicate snort when he randomly mentioned the gardens, swimming pool and large hot tub outside.

Naturally he had to quirk that eyebrow at her...which caused a peal of happy laughter. Cara tried to ignore the other vampires monitoring their progress.

"And what, pray tell, do vampires need with a swimming pool and a hot tub?" She gave Godric her cheekiest grin. His sparkling blue eyes retaliated beautifully as they noted every facet of her charming face.

"My dear Cara, as you are fond of pointing out, vampires are people, too. Perhaps we might fancy a midnight swim on occasion?" Hands clasped behind his back, Godric practiced his innocent look. Cara didn't buy it.

"Oh. Really..."

"Or it could be that they, like the kitchens and dining areas, simply came with the house?"

"That's more like it." She grinned up at him forgivingly. He elegantly inclined his head in gratitude.

"And now that we have returned to the underused kitchen, would you care for something to drink?"

"I'm fine, but thank you anyway. I came prepared," she pointed to the drink in her purse. Cara was too nervous to try to drink anything without risking a huge mess, and besides, she didn't see a coffee maker anywhere. Her handy-dandy, albeit flat, car drink would suffice.

"Then let us adjourn to my study so we can talk." Godric rested his hand on her waist and gently led the way into his large study. He indicated one of the smaller sofas near the predominant desk before he closed the door.

Cara settled herself onto the soft leather sofa...and wished her feet touched the floor. Rectifying this problem (common for her 5'3.5" self), she angled herself against the side arm of the sofa and tucked one foot under her leg and swung her other foot nervously. Thankfully she missed the brief grin passing over Godric's lips before he smoothed his face and sat down beside her.

"We have a problem"

Cara jerked her head up and was instantly serious. "The Weres."

"Yes. We located their nest, only the next night we discovered they had completely disappeared."

"That's not good." She bit her lip, then asked, "Do you know why they attacked Isabel in the first place?"

"No. But there is someone who might. I have called upon a different pack to assist with these matters. The MoonTracker pack has several experienced trackers, they make excellent guards, and may hear things in the supe community that we do not."

Cara valiantly almost suppressed a giggle at the name "MoonTracker". "MoonTracker? Well, I guess they can't help their name, but I do hope they can locate the disappeared pack. Awfully coincidentally convenient, though, you know? How they magically disappeared the night after they attacked? And I don't believe in coincidences." Cara slowly shook her head as she pondered this newest development, then looked back over to Godric.

He held her gaze steadily. "Yes. Very coincidental." He leaned back into the sofa, and waited. And waited.

Finally, Cara asked "What?"

He held her gaze another long moment, then leaned forward. "There are those in my retinue who wonder at your inexplicably good timing, and at your surprising abilities."

"My what? My _timing_? _Abilities!_?" Godric felt the oddest pain in his chest as wounded confusion briefly fluttered across her lovely face.

She jumped up. "What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" Yes, Cara had a rather quick temper.

In an instant Godric was off the sofa and directly in front of her. "_Explain_ how you managed to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to stop four full-grown Weres from killing my child? And _explain_ to me how _you_, a human female barely over five feet tall and weighing less than 120 pounds, managed to not only stop that attack, but to kill one Were and maim unto death another?"

"_What_?! _Explain_? _Manage_?! Fuck you _and_ the horse you rode in on, Godric. You and Isabel both ought to be fucking GLAD I came out of the grocery store when I did, and you ought to be super fucking glad I stepped in! Do you think I had any fucking choice in the matter? There's no way in hell I'd _CHOOSE_ to go around attacking men that look like dogs, but did I hesitate? No, I did not! I _saw_ what the hell was going on and had _no_ _choice_ but to try to stop it. Now get the _fuck_ out of my face, asshole. You and your "retinue" can kiss my round, sweet ass!"

Godric was enthralled by the dead-eye stare she was shooting at him. Her cheeks were flushed in righteous fury, her breath gasping and labored, her scent spiced with anger and indignation...she was absolutely glorious. And livid. And stomping out the door.

Fuck. What the hell was happening? That had not gone as intended.

At her shriek, he sped into the foyer and almost ripped Gervaise's throat from his neck. He was holding Cara, his hands in a vice-like grip on her upper arms. Cara was cursing him for his entire worthless existence as she struggled to free herself. Ryan had a restraining hand on Gervaise's shoulder and Isabel had grasped one of his arms. They both blurred aside when Godric appeared.

"Remove. Your. Hands." Godric hissed directly into Gervaise's ear. The threat was terrifyingly unmistakable as his hand enclosed and tightened around the vampire's throat.

Gervaise sullenly followed Godric's command, but not nearly fast enough to suit Godric. In the next instant he flung Gervaise across the foyer into the wood panel. His landing was loud and left a splintered depression in the wood.

Godric gathered Cara gently but fully into his arms and held her stiff body close to his chest. He tucked her head into his shoulder and glared at each of his underlings.

"This human is my respected guest," he growled fiercely, "and she will be treated as such, regardless of what passes between us. You will not threaten her. You will not mishandle her. You will not feed from her. You will not harass her in any way. Is. This. Clear." He stroked her back as he stared down the now-standing Gervaise.

Everyone immediately bowed low and acquiesced to his edict. "Yes, Master."

"Dismissed."

Instantly the foyer was deserted save for the contrite, regretful male holding and soothing the irate, hurt, confused woman in his arms.

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**Love it? Hate it? Let me know. Reviews are always welcome!**


	13. Chapter 13

****Author's Note****

****I know it's probably too soon to post this, but I was DYING to get this out to y'all. It's Godric's view of whatever-it-was that just happened. **

**He might be a truly ancient vampire, but y'all, don't forget: he's also...male. Gloriously, irritatingly, deliciously, stubbornly, beautifully, **_**over-reactionarily**_**...male. (Just how I like'em!)****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 13~**

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**(The best-laid plans - AKA: Oops)**

He had wanted to quickly put to rest Gervaise's ludicrous suspicions, and then continue on with their pleasant evening. That had been the plan. Show her around the house, make sure she felt comfortable, mention the sanctimonious underling's ridiculous doubts, and clear them quickly so could naturally flow into a nice, long conversation or a stroll through the gardens or ...

But something had gone terribly wrong when he thought of Cara, small, thin, frail Cara, voluntarily attacking massive, dangerous full-grown Weres...something had come unhinged. His famous control, his much-vaunted self-restraint...simply broke.

He could not remember the last time he had felt such intense...anger? Disbelief? Incredulity? Surely she was not that stupid! Surely she had been part of some sort of plan or scheme and had not put herself, alone and human and so very, very breakable, directly in the path of four such large, dangerous animals! Surely she had better sense, better instincts, than to attack full-grown Weres when she was armed with nothing but a tiny sliver pen, a small spray mace, and an insane lack of fear!

But apparently she had done...exactly that...to save his child. She had braved four lethal Weres, alone, at night, to save someone she did not even know.

And now, for her efforts, for her courage and bravery and selflessness, she was bruised...furious...insulted...and scared...in his _own_ home...by his _own_ underling...and by his _own_ words.

He hung his head in shame and despair.

That strange place in his chest hurt again, but even worse now. There was another...feeling?...in that same area. He recognized this as fear.

How in the fuck was he going to salvage this situation?

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**Love it? Hate it? Let me know. Reviews are always welcome!**

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	14. Chapter 14

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 14~**

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**(Regrouping...)**

As soon as she knew the foyer was cleared, Cara tried to extricate herself from Godric's firm embrace. She was just too pissed off and too hurt to be near him for one more moment. She refused to consider how cherished...and protected...she felt in his arms.

Godric closed his eyes and inhaled deeply one final time. Then, instead of letting her go completely, he merely loosened his grasp and let her take a step back. She brought her hands up to his chest as she met his deep, sad gaze. He gently cradled the back of her head in his hand and softly, slowly, intoned, "You will forgive me. That did not go at all as I had planned."

She felt a little dizzy, and shook her head to clear it. "You turned on me, Godric! In a split second, you went from fun and normal straight into attack mode!" She didn't notice the shock on his face as she tried to shove him away from her. Moving a brick wall would have been easier. "Is that why you invited me here - to _question_ me?" Shock, hurt, and anger warred on her distraught face.

Godric gathered his thoughts and tried again, this time with even more force. "We will start this evening over. You arrived, we have toured my house, and we will now sit in my study and have a nice conversation."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Godric? What is _wrong_ with you? You accuse me of horrible things and now you want to act like nothing's wrong? Let me go!"

He was stunned - it didn't work! No human had ever been immune to his mind tricks - none! In his shock that his glamoring didn't work on her, his hands loosened enough that Cara was able to free herself. She quickly backed several steps away from him, grabbed her purse from the table and turned toward the front door.

He had to act, and he had to act fast. "Cara?" Her name was a gentle, anguished plea in his soft, dark voice. "Please, I ask you to stay. I truly and deeply apologize for what happened earlier this evening." She paused near the door. "I swear to you that such things will never happen again. I do not blame you for wanting to leave, but we have more to discuss..." His voice faltered at her involuntary flinch.

"Please." He held an unnecessary breath as he waited.

He was humbly grateful when Cara slowly turned to face him. He hated the guarded, remote expression on her face, but, sadly, understood that he had earned it.

He started to return to his study, collected himself, then abruptly headed toward the large, open den instead. Perhaps an area with no disruptive memories would be better.

As he indicated the way, he silently bid his child to warn the others to stay away. When Isabel silently enquired how things were going with Cara, he did not reply but found solace in the sympathetic support she sent him.

"Would you care for a drink?" Godric indicated the many shiny bottles of spirits arranged around the bar area.

"No, thank you. If you want to fix something for yourself, go right ahead." She didn't smile as she folded her arms around herself and leaned back against the bar. He was obviously neither forgiven nor trusted.

At least she had not rushed out the door, although he would not have blamed her. Godric felt that odd, tight, pressure in his chest ease just a fraction. He still had such a long way to go, though. He wondered if he would ever be able to make up for all that he had ruined this night. She was so skittish as it was.

After heating himself a bottle of blood and collecting his thoughts, he chose a chair very near the entrance to the den. He made himself as non-threatening as he could, then invited Cara to have a seat.

After a long moment of indecision, she let her innate laziness win out and stiffly sat in a chair across from him. And waited.

"DesChamps is packmaster over the MoonTracker pack." Godric thought the direct approach might be best. "He has tasked his best trackers with locating the missing Weres, and has also provided guards for us...and for you." Cara inhaled sharply, and the look on her face told Godric that he'd better talk fast.

"Two Weres escaped, Cara. They know what you look like, and they know your scent. You are not safe so long as they roam free."

She thought for a minute, then asked unexpectedly, "Earlier you said 'maim unto death'. What did you mean by that?"

"The Were you paralyzed died."

"Good." She didn't blink.

"Good?" Godric just had to go and raise that brow. He wasn't as attractive as she'd once thought. Really. He was so much more so after the way he'd held her and..wow...Gervaise sure had landed with a very loud crash!

"Yes. He was watching the other two _eat_ her. To me, passive acceptance is the same as active participation. Although I'm not big on being the whole judge and jury, fact is, he deserved to die."

Godric finished his bottled blood and nodded, fascinated to hear what she would say next. "Please, elaborate."

"Why?" She angled her head a bit. She wasn't comfortable yet, but wasn't quite so ready to run cursing out the door, either.

"Because I find myself extremely curious to hear what you will say." He started to say something else, but changed his mind and said instead, "So although you do not wish to consider yourself "judge and jury", as you say, you feel no remorse for their deaths? I am glad to hear this as they obviously deserved to die."

He knew that humans generally viewed killing in a different light than vampires, that the only acceptable reason for killing was usually self-defense.

"Well, I wish I hadn't _had_ to step in. I wish their deaths _hadn't_ been necessary. But even though I don't really know anything about fighting or whatever, I knew that the only way to save Isabel was if I stepped in. And the most effective way to help her was to take out the two closest to me. I had the element of surprise on my side for the first Were. The second one was just a lucky shot. If I hadn't done anything, the two closest to me would have taken me out, and the other two would have finished killing Isabel. I couldn't let that happen if I could stop it, so I did what I had to do."

Godric had to agree with her reasoning. He nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"I don't know what else to say, Godric. I didn't _like_ killing the one Were, and I didn't _like_ hurting the other one, but they _chose_ to be there, and they _chose_ to help the other two out by _not_ stopping them. To me, their lack of intervention made them as guilty as the two who were chewing on her." Cara took her handy-dandy car drink out of her purse and took a sip. It was flat and room temperature, but wet.

"Just because their hands weren't bloody doesn't make them any less culpable than the other two," she restated as she looked Godric directly in the eyes. "And, honestly, I hope you guys catch the other two, and I really don't care what you do with them. They would definitely have killed her, and probably me, too. Just don't tell me what you end up doing with them." She shivered delicately. "Just because I will kill in defense of myself or someone in need doesn't mean I want to _think_ about it."

After another shiver, she took another sip of her drink and put it back in her purse. "Is there anything else?"

Godric was torn between admiration of her bravery and the internal strength it must have taken for her to kill to protect a total stranger, and pain that she no longer cared to spend time in his company.

"Yes, actually, there is. You know I have called upon DesChamps' Weres to help with locating the other pack and to provide security for all of us, right?"

Cara nodded slowly, knowing he'd get to the point eventually. She really needed to get out of there. And stop noticing how his eyes were so incredibly blue. And stop wishing he wouldn't look so down and depressed over the fight. He started it! She rubbed her upper arms where that asshole Gervaise had grabbed her, and wished they'd stop hurting.

Godric noticed the movement. "Are you in pain?" Cara thought he looked like he was about to cry, but quickly disregarded that theory. She knew he felt bad over that whole...situation...but damn. Couldn't a girl hold onto her righteous indignation for at least a little while?

"I'm fine," she replied cooly as she shrugged her shoulders. And winced.

He instantly whipped his phone out and dialed a number, which was answered immediately. An order was too quickly given for Cara to decipher, then he shut his phone off and looked expectantly toward the entrance to the den. A minute later, Isabel appeared with a bottle of Advil, a bottle of Tylenol, a bottle of aspirin, and a glass of water. She placed them on the table nearest Cara, patted her shoulder gently, then left without saying a word.

"I was not sure which pain reliever you would want," he explained.

Godric oversaw every motion in minute detail as she blinked a few times, shook her head, chose her pain reliever, took the dose with the water, tried not to smile, took another sip of her water, then finally spoke.

"So you've got Were guards now?" Were his eyes actually magnetic? She had to force herself to not get lost in their deep, sad depths. She really wished he'd quit looking at her like _that_. Like he'd move heaven and earth to change the way things were. Like he'd rather hurt himself than her. Like he'd love it more than anything if she would crawl back into his arms for just a little while.

Godric stared at her for a very long, intense moment, then sighed quietly. "It is my sincere wish that we could put the events of this evening behind us." He paused, then rose and started pacing. She didn't say a word.

"DesChamps' Weres are going to be here for the foreseeable future. They will be providing day guards for this estate, and for you." He immediately stopped pacing and flashed his blue gaze to Cara when she started to protest. "I'm sorry, but this is not negotiable, ma petite. I cannot allow you to remain unprotected during daylight hours. Your guards will not be intrusive, but they must be allowed to do their jobs. Which brings me to a favor I must ask of you."

Cara started to say something, then stopped. After watching Godric intently for a few long moments, she finally blurted, "A favor? From me?" Damn curiosity.

"Yes. Night before last you mentioned that you are currently unemployed. I would be pleased to offer you a decent, non-strenuous, post, which will not only solve your current employment situation, but will also solve a bit of a problem for me." Godric seemed unaccountably pleased with himself.

Immediately suspicious and more than a little confused, Cara gave him her second-best "dead eye" stare. She had no idea how endearing Godric thought she was. "What sort of job?"

"I would have you as my chatelaine," he said quietly, then a moment later, added, "I suppose you would be something of a day man, erm, woman." His lips twitched with the brief resurgence of his humor. "I have a day man, only, he is not, shall we say, qualified to care for the sudden increase in the Were population here at the estate. He also has numerous other duties to perform. I have agreed to provide the Weres with meals during their afternoon and evening hours here. However, I do not cook. Honestly, precious few vampires _would_ even if they knew how," Godric stated with an elegant shrug of his muscled shoulder. His gaze never left Cara's face. "DesChamps has stated that he will provide his own cook if needed, only, I do not wish for a stranger to be left unattended in my home during the day. If this does come to pass, you would consider her your assistant."

"So...I would just be, what, cooking lunch and dinner?" As intrigued as she was, Cara knew breakfast was out of the question. That whole "get out of the bed early in the morning" routine was _so_ not her. She would if she had to, though. She'd just complain bitterly about it.

"Yes, you would be in charge of the Were's afternoon and evening meals, as well as all shopping relevant to this task plus general household purchases, and anything else that might arise during their stay here. I would be in your debt if you would agree to assist me in this situation."

Cara bit her lip as she considered this opportunity? Situation? It sounded too good to be true. She loved cooking, and household crap in general. She didn't consider herself overly talented in the kitchen, but there was something deeply satisfying about creating a good, Southern meal from scratch with her two bare hands. She supposed it was like painting or sculpting, but with pots and pans and herbs and spices instead of brushes or clay. She had no one to cook for now, no one to appreciate or savor the efforts of her hard work and imagination. There was no one, and there wouldn't be.

Godric gazed in concerned fascination as a flash of melancholy briefly saddened Cara's sweet, lovely face. It was immediately replaced by a cool, calm facade, but had come from a very deep a place. Her next words quickly brought him out of his revere.

"Why would you want _me_ to work _here_, Godric? Not even half an hour ago you basically called me a traitor and that other one, Gervaise, acted like I was vermin to be exterminated. This doesn't sound like a happy work environment, I gotta say." Cara pinned him with her painfully accusing stare.

Excellent question, he silently conceded. Now how was he going to answer it? Even he had no idea how the previous situation had degraded so very quickly. Eyes burning blue with intensity, remorse, and promise, Godric caught and held her wary gaze with his own.

"I humbly beg your forgiveness, Cara. I would sooner claw mine own eyes out than bring tears to yours. I would do anything in my power to recall the words I said in my earlier frustration, but alas, I cannot. I can, however, give you my complete protection and care should you grant me the opportunity." Godric took a deep but unnecessary breath and a moment later expelled it. "Gervaise has an innate distrust of humans, especially women. However, he will not be a problem as my _complete_ trust in you is more than sufficient to silence him. Should the need arise, I will end him."

Cara shivered, trapped in his gaze and stilled by the deep warmth in his soothing voice. His apology should not have touched her so profoundly. The promise of his protection, of being in his care, should not have been so hypnotically appealing. His mesmerizingly blue eyes should not have been so exceptionally persuasive. The lip she was biting should not have ached for the touch of his own.

She took a deep, clearing breath as she refused to think about Gervaise being "ended" and pondered instead the truth behind his words. Shit.

"How many Weres at a time are we talking about? Are you _sure_ you can trust these Weres? How long would this job last? How many hours per day or evening would this be? What is the likelihood that he'll send someone else over?"

Godric was acutely relieved to see the return of Cara's endearing habit of asking many questions quickly. To him it signified a lessening of the cool reserve she had shown since the incident. He would consider the perplexing intensity of his...feelings...at a later time. Apparently he was not as accustomed to such things as he had thought.

"Three or four Weres at a time, although that number could change depending on need. Yes, as much as Weres _can_ be trusted. As long as it takes to neutralize the threat. They have requested lunch be served at approximately an hour after noon and dinner to be served between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Those hours, plus shopping and clean-up...so at a guess perhaps around ten hours a day? You will have to plan your schedule as you will, naturally. At this time I do not know."

He happily answered her questions in his usual way: promptly and in the order asked.

"You will not be bothered with any sort of housekeeping tasks as we have our regular maid service for such things," he hastened to clarify. "Your _only_ concern would be with satisfying the Were's food requirements, as well as the purchase of whatever you desire. Your salary will start at $2000 a week, and will of course increase as needed. If at all possible, I will need you tomorrow." Godric held his unnecessary breath...and could not remember the last time he felt the need to do such a thing.

Cara pondered his proposal. The good (Godric, easy job, doing something she enjoyed anyway, Godric, lots of money...Godric) barely outweighed the bad (Godric's eyes, Godric's scent, Godric's quirky eyebrow, Godric's strong broad chest, Godric's way-too-comfortable embrace). Deep breath in...deep breath out.

"Ok. And you want me to start tomorrow? Is there any food in the house for this yet?"

Godric exhaled the most relieved breath in his memory. "Your guard will escort you to the market early tomorrow afternoon for supplies so you can start with dinner. I will have you a credit card within the next few days, but until then, you will have to bother with cash."

Cara thought for a moment, nodded, then excused herself to the restroom for a quick "human moment".

Godric blurred to his study then, a moment later, blurred back to the den. He inhaled her scent lingering scent in the air. And started pacing. He came to an abrupt stop when Cara returned.

He handed her a well-stuffed envelope. "If you would like, you are more than welcome to search the kitchen to see what you might need for tomorrow's evening meal. If there are other items for the kitchen you need, please, purchase whatever you want tomorrow." She nodded, so, side by side, they headed for the kitchen. Godric barely stopped himself from placing his hand on her waist during the short walk. If he happened to walk a bit closer to her than normal vampire custom allowed, no one was around to notice.

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***So...how'd Godric do? Think he's on the way back into Cara's good graces yet? Love it? Hate it? Let me know!****

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	15. Chapter 15

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 15~**

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**(And then there were Weres...)**

Two Weres followed Cara home. Thankfully, they were part of DesChamps pack.

The MoonTracker packmaster had arrived with six of his Weres while Cara was still familiarizing herself a bit with the mansion's kitchen, and they had hit it off immediately. DesChamps was a serious older man, still in his prime but tempered by experience, and an obviously well-respected leader. He apparently didn't have a first name as far as Cara could figure.

Elise and Mark, both appearing to be in their mid-20's, were her guards. They were both well-armed and wore identical expressions of intelligent, alert concentration. During daylight hours, they were supposed to escort her...everywhere. Home. Estate. Grocery stores. Mall. Library. Post Office. Cara really hoped they had a high tolerance for boredom and badly off-key singing when she realized "escort" apparently meant "chauffeur".

The other four Weres, Chad, Rio, Anderson, and some other guy whose name she immediately forgot, were almost carbon copies of each other. Except for Elise, all the Weres were tall, broad, muscular, and judging by the energy she picked up from them, lethal. Although Elise was built similar to her own petite frame, DesChamps assured them that she was lethal in her own right, as well as a skilled tracker.

Because vampires and the two-natured weren't automatic allies in the supe world, it was a somewhat uncomfortable experience when the rest of the vampires first reappeared. They wanted to meet with the Weres and discuss procedures, but they apparently didn't have to enjoy it.

The easy, relaxed friendliness Godric and Isabel had shown her in the past was replaced with the remote, slightly aloof "vampire facade" they'd both described to her. The change in their personality was so thorough that she'd have been absolutely mystified if they hadn't previously discussed this tendency with her. She definitely understood why such an extreme reserve could sometimes come in handy. Survival tactics were definitely a good thing.

Godric was calmly impassive around the Weres and other vampires, his power strongly evident with just a raised brow or commanding look. Even his stance was more alert: spine straight, broad shoulders back, blue eyes straight ahead, arms crossed or hands on his hips, core balanced, feet spread. Through his reserve she could sense his sharp focus on detail and a faint disdain for Weres in general. He also refused to let more than three feet come between himself and Cara.

A peacemaker by nature, Cara did what she could to keep things running smoothly, but as usual she didn't want to actually draw attention to herself. Since Godric seemed determined to stay so close to her, she slowly "led" him, and therefore the group, toward the seating in the huge den. It wasn't long before most of the group was seated comfortably and chatting somewhat less cautiously. It helped that Gervaise remained on the periphery of the group. It also helped that Godric stationed himself right beside her as she sat in one of the large, well-padded chairs near the center of the group.

"I have to be honest - I really don't want guards. But," she hastened to add when she saw Godric start to speak, "I'd much rather have guards than to have to deal with killers any day of the week." She shivered both at the memory of the event and at the cooler room temperature. A sweater would have been nice, she thought as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

A moment later a lovely soft, warm, throw settled around her shoulders. Godric barely appeared to have moved at all. Cara managed to hide her surprise as she whispered a very quiet "thank you". She snuggled into the throw, and continued, "Y'all are going to be awfully bored, so bring a deck of cards or a wood-burning kit or something." That earned her a few chuckles.

Elise spoke up. "What is your normal routine?"

"Well, tomorrow's going to be an odd day. In the early afternoon I'm going shopping for groceries and odds and ends for this kitchen, then I'll stay here until after I get everything cleaned up from supper. After that, my normal routine will be coming here around 11:00 in the morning and staying till whenever I get through with supper dishes." Cara couldn't stand the thought of leaving a mess in the kitchen. "I don't usually get out and about all _that_ much, just trips to the library, to pay bills, generic errands and stuff like that. But now that I'm working here I guess I'll have to get used to going to the grocery store fairly often for replacement parts."

"Replacement parts?" They all looked confused.

"Parts to replace the milk and the tea and the coffee and the meats and the vegetables and the butter and the sugar and the flour..." Cara trailed off with a charming laugh.

The Weres all joined in with her humor. DesChamps asked, "Do you enjoy cooking?"

"Oh, definitely. I can't say I'm a _wonderful_ cook, but I'm definitely a _Southern_ cook. To me, that means butter and bacon grease are a regular occurrence, not just a "Sunday only" thing. In deference to the local vampire population," Cara nodded to the cooler beings in the room, "I won't be cooking many of my Italian dishes because of the garlic component, but if y'all don't mind, there are a few dishes I can make that taste pretty good even without the garlic." All the Weres nodded agreement.

"Otherwise it's going to be plain old ordinary things like fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, potato salad, steaks, chicken strips, ham, pork chops, asparagus, beef stew, field peas, greens, corn, turkey, and a salad every now and then just to shock your systems. If y'all want, we can definitely do "breakfast for supper" once in a while, too: bacon, eggs, sausage, toast or biscuits and gravy...?" Most of the Weres immediately fell in love with her as they nodded enthusiastically. Godric was not amused.

"Just don't expect home-made biscuits cause mine are the weirdest looking biscuits on the planet." All the Weres, and even some of the vampires, laughed. A few of the Weres stated firmly that they didn't mind in the least.

"If anyone has any food allergies or a pepper dysfunction, or foods they refuse to chew, now's a great time to tell me, by the way, _before_ I buy it, fix it, then dare you to leave it on your plate." No one said anything. "But, don't worry, I wouldn't inflict Brussels' sprouts or rye crackers on anyone." Several Weres looked vastly relieved.

"And if y'all are good, there'll be some cakes, pies, and cobblers fairly often, too," she teased. The rest of the Weres fell in love with her.

"How good do we have to be?" Godric concluded that the Were Anderson needed very close supervision.

"Very." Cara gave Anderson a level stare. "Mind your manners, stomp your boots off as you enter the house, and be nice."

"Oh, I can be very nice," Anderson retorted, then settled back down at DesChamps' pointed glare.

"Whatever." Cara rolled her eyes. "If this gets to be a bit much for me to deal with alone, Godric mentioned that y'all might have someone who could help me out?" Cara looked at DesChamps, but it was Chad who spoke up.

"My girlfriend, Sarah, said that she'd be glad to help out. She's not working right now and she's a damn good cook." The Were Chad suddenly seemed less...fetid...in Godric's estimation.

Godric surveyed the room, paying brief but particular attention to Anderson and Mark. Somehow, he knew _exactly_ what had Cara meant. "I would like to interview her as soon as possible." It troubled him that he could not be there with her during the daylight hours. He was having serious reservations about Anderson.

DesChamps nodded, "I'll arrange for her to be here tomorrow right after dark." He then turned to Cara, "This is kind of a delicate subject, ma'am, but I have to be honest with you. We're wondering how _you_ managed to take out two full-grown Weres in the middle of...well, you know. You're a little bitty thing. You ain't no match for a baby Were, much less two adults. So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you do it?"

Godric bristled instantly. Cara felt the low vibration of his growl that the sharper-eared Weres heard quite clearly. Peacemaker to the rescue, she thought.

She gently touched his hand to redirect his attention and looked up at him. "Godric, do you mind if I tell them what happened?"

Normally, Cara would never have even _considered_ asking someone's "permission" for anything at all. She was certainly the type to say what she wanted, when she wanted, consequences be damned. Personal freedom was actually one of her biggest triggers. Asking advice? Fine. Asking permission? Nails on chalkboard were preferable.

But, oddly, she didn't mind running this by Godric first. This was _his_ territory, and these were _his_ people, so it only made sense to check with him first. If there were other implications to seeking his approval, she decided she'd think about it later. Maybe. Plus, his fangs were starting to show and she'd hate to lose her job before she even started.

He looked down at her for a long moment as he pondered the consequences and ramifications of her explaining to these Weres and the other vampires how she had singlehandedly slain two vicious killers. There was something tickling the back of _his_ mind about the whole incident. That must have been why he reacted so badly an hour ago. Maybe hearing her tell the story herself would help solve the puzzle plaguing him. He loathed an unsolved mystery.

Finally he nodded and lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. Her slight flinch stung badly, but he hid his reaction well. He glared at everyone else in the den. "Her words do not leave this room," he firmly commanded. "Is this understood?" Everyone nodded at his demand. He raised his brow. Everyone got the point and voiced their compliance out loud.

He nodded back to Cara and patted her shoulder before removing his hand. She exhaled a deep breath, took a sip of her flat, warm soda, shrugged out of the warm throw, then stood up. Speaking to an audience, which she deplored, seemed easier when pacing. Some ten minutes later, seven Weres and five vampires were gazing at her with varying degrees awe and amazement.

Godric noted the unconscious grace of her pacing, and the odd phrases she used to describe her actions. He noted the lilting tones of her accent and how pleasing her voice was to his ears. He noted the flush of anger on her sweetly rounded cheeks and the way her eyes sparkled with righteous fury.

He also noted the one vampire showing definite disinterest in both the woman and her story.

DesChamps cleared his throat. "Is there any way I could see that pen, please?"

"Ah...it now lives in the alley beside the store cause it's probably still covered in eye goop." Godric hid his smile as Cara made her adorable "gross" face. "The mace was the plain, regular kind, if that helps. It wasn't quite as effective as I'd thought it'd be, but still, it worked." She abruptly sat back down and took another swig of her nasty flat soda. All present saw the yawn she tried to hide.

"Mark and Elise, you will escort Cara to her home tonight so you will know where to begin your duties come first light. At no time will she be left unattended, and you will defend her at all costs." Godric blithely ignored Cara's glare. "The rest of you will begin your duties here at first light." He turned to DesChamps. "I will meet with this Sarah at first dark tomorrow. Afterward I will expect an update concerning the location of the pack. That is all."

Everyone stood and began the process of leaving. Elise and Mark made their way over to Cara to exchange phone numbers and continue with the getting-to-know-you's. Godric, Isabel, Ryan, Scott, and the quiet Alaric held a quick conference with DesChamps. Gervaise disappeared.

About ten minutes later, Godric called an end to the conversations. He had noticed Cara's increasing fatigue, and after the drama from earlier that evening, he was not the least bit surprised. He was still rather unsettled about the whole disaster himself; he could only imagine how she felt.

Elise and Mark waited near the front door and chatted amongst themselves as Godric quietly approached Cara. She finished folding the throw and placed it on the back of the sofa before acknowledging his presence. She wasn't nearly as angry with him as she had been, but, as much as she hated to admit it, her trust in him was badly shaken.

She had an odd sense that he'd never actually hurt her, not physically at least, but, still. That verbal attack had to have come from _somewhere_. She folded her arms across her chest and waited as she refused to remember just how safe and comforted she'd felt in _his_ arms.

Godric longed to relive the sweet comfort of having her hand in his again, but thought better of the idea when he noticed her defensive posture. He had a long way to go to regain her trust, and the need to do so was strangely urgent.

"Thank you for visiting my home this evening. I truly regret..."

Cara quietly interrupted him. "Don't. Just...don't." She shook her head and took a step back. The wary sadness on her face pained him badly. "I'll still work here, though, so don't worry about that. I'll see you tomorrow evening." She tried to ignore the miserable, wounded look in his cobalt eyes and the slight tightening of his lips, and failed.

She hesitantly, softly, patted him a few times on the left side of his chest. Seeing him that miserable just felt...wrong. She tried not to notice just how firm and muscular his pecs were and instead grabbed her purse, nodded to her guards, and left.

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***Love it? Hate it? Let me know! I really do appreciate your reviews - y'all rock!***

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	16. Chapter 16

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing canon about this story.

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 16~**

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**(Godric's POV)**

She did not run screaming out the door.

She accepted the job.

She will return tomorrow.

She did not run screaming out the door.

She accepted the job.

She will return tomorrow.

Godric attempted to console himself with these simple facts. It was not working so well.

The moment the visitors and non-resident vampires left, Godric retreated to his private quarters. And started pacing.

He could not believe how badly he had lost control of the situation with Cara earlier that evening. His control...his restraint...were legendary! All he meant to do was quickly cover the questions raised by Gervaise then focus on a much more pleasant evening. What plans he had made!

Now, at least, he knew in part why his anger had flared so disastrously. A mystery such as this would eat at him until he solved it. But even now he was no closer to solving the puzzle that tickled and ate at the back of his mind.

HOW _had_ thin, petite Cara managed to kill two full-grown Weres? Granted, she had luscious curves in all the right places, but still, she was no match for the strongest members of the two-natured species. It was just not possible. Yet, somehow, she had not only ended two Weres, but had caused the other two to flee, thus saving his child's life.

His awe and admiration for Cara grew...as did his despair. He had no idea of how to regain her trust, how to rectify this awful situation. He was glad that patience was one of his strongest traits, only, he felt the oddest sense of _im_patience when it came to his Cara. He wanted her to trust him _now_.

After he heated a blood in the microwave, he sat down in the most comfortable chair in his private lounge area. Comfort, however, completely eluded him as the images of fear and anger on Cara's face kept searing through his mind. He fervently wished he could have eviscerated Gervaise earlier that evening, but there was no way to have done so without causing her even more distress. Also, that kind of thing was frowned upon for members of the Council.

Blasted Council. Why had he gotten so involved in their agenda anyway? Oh, yes...to help further the evolution of the vampire species. Right. You can take the vampire out of animalistic circumstances, but you cannot take the animal out of the vampire. It was possible, but only to a certain extent, and apparently required massive amounts of useless paperwork. Like paperwork ever helped civilize anyone.

His own ability to evolve was actually one of his "vampire gifts", as Cara called them.

Cara. Even her name tasted sweet on his tongue.

What was he going to do about Cara?

He loathed that he would be dead to the world upon her daily arrival, but loved that he was blessed with the ability to rise much earlier than typical vampires. He would have to glamour the Weres, especially this Sarah, into "forgetting" his ability as he preferred to keep this talent secret, but that would take only moments to accomplish. He would simply have to trust Cara to keep this to herself.

There was no way he was going to allow that damn Anderson any more time alone with Cara than was absolutely necessary. Somehow he had known _exactly_ what she wanted when she had mentioned bringing someone else in to help her. Her sudden desire to not be alone during the day could not have been clearer if she had spoken the words aloud. His nostrils flared as he growled too low and deep for anyone but another vampire to hear.

Perhaps he would keep an eye on this Mark as well.

The ringing of his phone interrupted his sudden fascination with silver dog collars. Three minutes later he was somewhat more hopeful of forgiveness - his day man had finally located and purchased the exact coffee machine he wanted to provide for his Cara. He had also bought several boxes of her favored varieties of coffee designed for use with that machine as well. While the day man could not locate the exact design of coffee cup she seemed to prefer, he did purchase a selection of cups in the same larger size that she used. Milk for her coffee was already in the refrigerator.

Online shopping was indeed useful Godric decided an hour or so later. He wondered if she knew the language of flowers? Either way, he hoped she would enjoy her bouquet tomorrow. He thought purple hyacinths (I am sorry; please forgive me, sorrow) blended with Calla lilies (beauty) and dark pink roses (he was very thankful that she was willing to return to his home), interspersed with lots of baby's breath and greenery for fullness, would work well for a first delivery.

He only wished he could be there to see her face when she read his card.

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****Just a quickie because GODRIC... Love it? Hate it? Let me know! I *love* reading your reviews, and will reply as quickly and often as I can. Thank you! Also: Giving credit where credit is due, the information regarding the language of flowers came from this amazing site: ****

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	17. Chapter 17

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". There is pretty much nothing about this story that is cannon.

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 17~**

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**(That smile...)**

"OH MY GEISHAS! Elise! Mark! Look!" Cara's excitement was obvious and contagious when she spied the shiny new coffee machine on the counter. It was exactly like the higher-end one in her own tiny kitchen, and it hadn't been there last evening. Neither had the brand new extra-large coffee cups clustered near it. Neither had the several different boxes of the coffee "cups" for use only in that type of coffee machine. They were even her particular favorite blends!

Mark and Elise had picked her up a little after 1:00 pm, and shopping had taken forever...it was after 4:00 pm already, which was way too many hours without a cup of coffee in Cara's opinion.

It took her about a minute to set up the coffee machine. Less than three minutes later she had in her very happy hands a fresh cup of her favorite coffee, served light beige in a (quickly washed) perfectly-sized coffee cup. Bliss.

She secretly suspected who the party responsible for this gift was, but since there were no actual clues, she couldn't be much more than 99% sure. Still, it was an extremely thoughtful, appropriate, and _muchly_ appreciated gift.

Maybe she might consider letting bygones be bygone sooner than she'd thought likely? Bribery was insulting, but _thoughtful_ bribery...she might fall for that. Some. Or more than some. She'd consider the ramifications later. Besides, there was an SUV-load of groceries to put up.

"Get outta the way, Mark. Lemme do my thing already!" Cara laughed ten minutes later. Mark solemnly bowed then stepped ten feet away so he could claim to technically be in the den. Then he went out to grab more bags.

Elise laughed at them and continued unpacking the bags full of groceries that the day man, Beck Bailey, was hauling into the kitchen. According to all the food entering the house, the Weres would not be going hungry anytime soon.

"I can't believe all these bags came from just two grocery stores," commented the somewhat out of breath day man.

"Thank you for helping, Mr. Bailey," Cara thanked the man. The pleasant, slightly portly, older man was waiting for them when they arrived from their shopping expedition, and immediately started helping them unload the SUV. "I figure it won't be long till I have to go grocery shopping again, either, considering I'll be feeding six or so hungry Weres two meals a day."

"Please, just call me Beck, and I don't mind a bit. As soon as you have a moment, though, I do need borrow some of your time."

Cara nodded and went back to putting the cold items in the refrigerator. Considering all the cold and frozen edibles and imbibeables she'd managed to corral into her carts, that part alone might take a while.

"Why don't you let me put those things up so you can see what he needs?" Elise kindly suggested. Cara nodded gratefully and followed Beck to a small office just past Godric's and gladly took the seat he offered. Shopping was hard work!

"Mr. Godric wanted me to finalize your working contract, complete the usual employment forms, and then there are a few things he wanted me to give you." Cara stared in dismay at the paperwork piling up in front of her. Beck laughed.

"I understand your feelings completely, but the contract is actually not very complicated. This section," he pointed to a section, "is a simple confidentiality agreement. Basically, tell no one what you do, see, hear, or encounter during your work here." Cara briefly read over that section, and whaddya know, that's exactly what it said, but just with more (useless) words.

"This next section simply details your working days and hours of Monday through Friday, with the hours classified as "the hours necessary to complete the tasks of preparing and cleaning up for two meals each day", with those being lunch and dinner," he clarified for no reason that Cara could see, ""for a group of no larger than six individuals unless further assistance is provided for you, and that you will be responsible for purchasing whatever you deem necessary to comfortably complete your duties". It also reads that you are to consider the hours between the preparation and clean-up of lunch until the preparation of dinner your own time to spend as you wish unless you need to shop for supplies or run errands." He slid the contract over so she could read what he'd basically just read to her. She nodded, actually rather glad of his consideration, and returned the contract back to him.

Annnnnd...there was more. "This section states that you are to be compensated $2,000 a week for your time and efforts. You are given the entirety of Saturdays and Sundays off, but that you are to consider yourself permanently welcome here. If you should decide to provide any sort of assistance during your weekends, you will be generously compensated for such. A vehicle and driver are at your disposal," he looked up, "I assume that would be your guard?" She nodded.

He continued, "...at your disposal for any excursions whether or not they are related to your employment responsibilities." Poor Beck was obviously getting tired of reading all the legal mumbo-jumbo. He paused to sip what she guessed was tea, then...continued.

"This section down here details your inclusion in the employee health plan, the employee life-insurance plan, the employee retirement plan, and your invitation to use any of the facilities on the property, including the gardens, the pool...etc..." Finally he wound down.

Cara perused the entire contract for a bit, then bit the proverbial bullet and signed the damn thing.

Next up, the employment forms. Piece of cake, she thought, rather glad dear Beck didn't feel called upon to read _those_ to her as well.

Both were relieved when the paperwork portion of the afternoon finally ended. He reached into his desk and pulled out a key ring complete with several keys and a small card. "These are the keys to the front, side, and back doors, and these are the security access codes you'll need to enter before you insert the keys, and after you enter the residence." Beck's tone and demeanor alerted Cara to the true seriousness of this part of the afternoon's transactions.

She hesitated briefly before accepting the responsibility for the home's security. "Why is he giving me this? Wouldn't it be safer to have you meet me here every day at around 11:00 am and let me in? I mean, I'm technically just a _very_ new employee."

"Yes, honestly, it would be safer, but what about when you have to run errands or buy groceries? What if I'm kept away by my own assignments?" Beck thought even more kindly of the young woman for worrying about such things.

"True. That makes sense. It's just that I'm not certain how comfortable I am with _this_ level of responsibility."

"Mr. Godric doesn't trust at all lightly, but he apparently trusts you, Cara, so don't worry about that. He obviously thinks very highly of you. And, on that note, he wanted me to give you this." Beck rolled his chair around and picked up the vase of stunningly gorgeous flowers she had noticed sitting on the other portion of his huge desk.

They were beautiful, and smelled incredible. A huge bouquet of purple hyacinths, pink roses and Calla lilies was beautifully filled out with lots of greenery and baby's breath. "They're gorgeous!" She exclaimed happily. "Oh, and there's a card, too!"

She opened the florist's card, and grinned.

"My angel, my imp,

Please forgive me.

Thank you for your lovely presence in my unlife.

I look forward to healing any breach that may part us.

Be at ease in my home.

Yours eternally,

Godric"

Cara couldn't help the pleased blush that flooded her face or the delighted, secretive grin that teased her lips as she remembered him calling her alternately "my angel" and "my imp" during his visit to her apartment. It was very gratifying to know that he held such fond memories of that evening as well. They'd had so much fun, laughing, joking around. That eyebrow of his had certainly gotten a nice workout that night.

"Thank you, Beck. Well, let's go play with groceries now." Under Beck's benevolent gaze, Cara stuffed the keys and code card into her pocket, picked up the heavy vase carefully, and headed back to the kitchen. Supper wasn't trained to fix itself, and it was already beginning to get later.

She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall...yup, it was already fifteen till five and she wanted the Weres to get used to having dinner at 6:00 pm, so she needed to get started. Her spine tingled a bit as she noticed that it wouldn't be too awfully long until the sun started to set. These late fall days in Greensboro, NC, sure seemed to end earlier and earlier.

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o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o

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At 4:00 pm, Godric activated the live-feed from both the internal and external surveillance systems covering the entire estate. The rarely-used control center was conveniently located in a hidden room behind the study in his private quarters and was outfitted with a vast array of all things related to undetected recon.

He wanted to inspect the new guards to ensure they were performing their duties adequately, and they were. So far even that damn Anderson seemed to know what he was doing as he was hidden with an excellent vantage point overlooking the front of the house. The Were Chad, the one with the girlfriend Sarah he was to meet this night, was hidden with an excellent vantage point overseeing the gardens and pool areas. Rio was briefly glimpsed patrolling the long drive from the road to the house, and Cade was monitoring the tree line on the other side of the outbuildings. Their proper placement and focus reassured him of their purported competence.

He then brought up the live feed from the internal systems. The cameras and voice transmitters had been placed for maximum coverage of the foyer, den, his own study, Beck's office, the underling's offices, the kitchen, dining room... In fact, every room on the estate, except for the restrooms, bedrooms, and basement, had sufficient surveillance devices installed at different angles for full coverage of any given area.

Even his own private quarters were under optional scrutiny. If he felt the need, he could remote activate the cameras and listening devices, as well as several other devious little tricks the systems installer had provided. He could also activate the emergency light-tight shutters installed over every window in the house.

Leaning back in his comfortable desk chair, Godric was satisfied that he would not yet have to reveal his talent for early rising. He could watch Cara...the Weres' interactions with Cara from afar to ensure they treated her with respect. He would monitor all situations to ensure her safety and comfort.

A bit later, commotion in the foyer drew his attention. Cara had returned, and her guards were helping to carry an increasing number of bags into the house. Good, Beck was helping as well. He really wanted Cara and Beck to get along, but it was not strictly necessary. Although trustworthy, reliable day men were not easy to replace, it was definitely possible. Replacing Cara was...not.

Godric was pleased to note how very well the cameras in the kitchen area were positioned for maximum coverage. Ah! She found the coffee machine! Her whole face lit up with radiant surprise! She was stunningly beautiful in her elation, her glorious flush of pleasure so enticing, the delighted sparkle in her eyes so entrancing!

The heavenly smile on her soft pink lips nearly brought him out of hiding. Oh, to have her gazing into his eyes with such a look on her sweet face...to crush her lips with his...

The privacy of this secret chamber was indeed convenient considering the bulge rising once again in his loose pants. He never quite stopped aching for her, but was hopeful he could start better controlling such reactions. Eventually.

In both of his youths he had lacked much restraint when it came to pleasures of the flesh, but as time passed, such things were less and less of an urgent problem. After several centuries, his self-control had slowly extended to include his sexual relations. While slightly less controlled by his urges, and certainly more selective, than his male child, he had nevertheless remained quite active until the last several centuries. Then, other things slowly became more important until sex was just a normal but generic part of feeding.

Until Cara. Now he seemed destined to walk around with a semi-permanent erection no matter how often he attempted to solve the problem himself.

The serene, soulful contentment she exuded from her first sip of coffee captivated his attention. The serenity of the moment would have stolen his breath had he still breathed. That something so incredibly mundane as a cup of coffee could bring her such peace, such _contentment_, simply amazed him. Incredible! How often that word applied to her was also...incredible. Also beautiful. Stunning. Sweet.

He was surprisingly grateful to the universe that _his _gift had brought her such joy.

His sense of satisfaction ended abruptly with a low growl as he noticed Mark's overt familiarity toward the object of his desire. Mayhap the Were Chad would be a better guard, he fumed. He at least had a girlfriend. Godric carefully monitored their interactions as he intended to have words with DesChamps. He was pleased to note, however, that at least Elise was working out well.

Soon, Beck led Cara to his office. Ha! Apparently his Cara cared as much for paperwork as he did, although he was pleased to see her read through the contract before she signed it. Now for the employment paperwork...and the keys and access codes.

Her reluctance to accept the keys and codes spoke well of her understanding of the serious responsibility possession of such items entailed. Although he certainly trusted Cara, her hesitance only strengthened his faith in her. He must give Beck a raise. His handling of that delicate procedure was exceptional.

Now...for the flowers. Brava! Her reaction did not disappoint! He sincerely hoped she understood his reference to that most pleasant time he had spent with her in her home. If not, he wanted to remind her of how very naturally they had gotten along.

She was definitely his angel, and she was definitely his imp! If she did not know the language of flowers, he would certainly enjoy teaching her of such things...

Ah, that sweet, secret smile dancing on her lips. _That_ smile would soothe him into his day rest for many, many mornings to come.

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	18. Chapter 18

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 18~**

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**(Step one...)**

All evening she'd noticed (and _felt_) Godric keeping an eye on her. Even when he would move to another room, her respite was short-lived because he never stayed away for very long. No matter how many vampires or Weres were milling about, she could always sense when Godric was in the room. He was never obvious about it, nor did he in any way make her feel uncomfortable. It was like he was so hyper-aware of her that it fed her own awareness of him. She didn't think it had anything to do with how well his camel pants fit his high, firm ass or how well his soft camel sweater hugged his entire muscular upper body.

When he'd first appeared for the evening, her ingrained (and sometimes even good) manners dictated that she thank him nicely for the gorgeous flowers. His resulting smile had made her feel happier, like she was somehow lighter inside. She wondered what he had been thinking that made his blue eyes sparkle so roguishly. The soft smile playing on his lips didn't help either.

When he'd asked her if she was familiar with the meanings of flowers, she'd blushed and looked away as she responded that she was vaguely familiar with the subject. As a former romantic, of course she had a somewhat limited recollection of the meanings of _some_ flowers, but she made a mental note to research the whole thing if he was into such subtle, old-fashioned methods of communication. Thankfully she had to check on the pork chops. Marinating them could take a surprising amount of concentration...

She paused as she turned away toward the counter and looked at him over her shoulder. "I'd also like to thank the coffee fairies for that magnificent beast that magically appeared on the counter over there. It's absolutely perfect." His low, pleased chuckle frissoned down her spine in the nicest way ever.

Not too long afterward DesChamps arrived with Sarah. Godric lead them to his study, then about ten minutes later, they entered the kitchen. Godric introduced Sarah and suggested that they get to know each other for a bit while he and DesChamps continued their conversation.

Cara and Sarah had a short giggle over their rhyming names, and along with Elise proceeded to get along marvelously. Cara was very glad to hear that Sarah would be working the entire daily shift with her. Anderson kind of creeped her out a bit, so she was glad to have permanent company while "alone" in the house. It helped that Sarah actually know what she was doing in a kitchen. Elise was a great help, but she was a guard and therefore subject to rotation.

A little while later, Godric called Cara into his study.

"Please, have a seat," he invited. She and her coffee cup sat on the long sofa near DesChamps.

"Are you comfortable with your guards?" Godric resumed his position behind his huge desk.

"Oh, I think they're great, but...why do I have to have _two_ guards? Isn't one shadow enough?" Cara had been wondering about that one all day.

"If you were attacked, one guard would extract you from the situation while the other guard would deal with the threat. Two guards are best. If this situation remains unresolved much longer, I may increase it to three when you are not here." Godric's level stare bespoke his intractability on that subject.

Cara drew a breath to speak, then blew it out in a very nice pout. "I really can't see the escaped Weres coming to find me." Godric raised that brow. It wasn't nearly as adorable when his face was _that_ serious. "Well, I did kill two of their own. They wouldn't have appreciated that so much, would they..."

"No." Ugh. Serious Godric was serious, all right. How someone who appeared so young could exude so much power, she'd never know.

She sighed. "Ok, I do see your point." She sipped her coffee in retreat.

DesChamps asked during the opportune pause, "So you do get along with them?" She wondered why he asked basically the same thing Godric had.

"Oh, yeah, they're really nice. I couldn't stand it if they stood around all boots and rally/Men in Black all day, ya know? That would have been just too uncomfortable. While Mark and Elise _do_ seem like they know their stuff, they're also really easy-going and helpful, too. Can't beat that!" Even though she understood the reasoning behind the action, Cara _was_ a bit miffed at Godric's suddenly intractable attitude, so she added, "Mark's a real sweetheart, and Elise is just as nice as she could be. I can definitely see myself getting close to them, especially since we're going to be spending so much time together. Although I certainly wish I didn't need them, I don't think you could have chosen two better guards for me, DesChamps."

DesChamps studiously ignored the strong displeasure coming in waves from behind the desk.

"Oh, and I love Sarah!" Cara then finally switched her smile back over to Godric. "Thank you for bringing her on board, Godric. I'm really glad she's here."

Slightly mollified, Godric nodded his head. "You are most welcome. Do you have everything you need?" He wasn't exactly happy yet, but he was definitely trying to count her eyelashes.

"Well, I've got an amazing coffee machine, all the coffee I could want for the foreseeable future, great cookware, perfect cast iron frying pans, and, yeah, I'll need to go shopping again pretty soon," she trailed off laughing. "A new kitchen takes a while to stock right because a lot of times you don't know that you need something till you actually need it. I'll have to expand the spice collection, too. Are there any other herbs or spices that vampires can't stand?"

Maintaining his minute scrutiny, Godric simply shook his head.

To try to diffuse whatever his situation was, Cara switched topics. "Considering that my health, safety and well-being are directly involved, I have to ask if y'all have heard anything else about the disappearing Weres?"

DesChamps glanced at Godric for permission to speak, and Godric nodded his head.

"We've caught their scent, but we haven't located them yet."

Cara started to speak, then bit her lip as she changed her mind. "Well, if you guys hear something, let me know, ok? I need to get back to the chops. Are you staying to dinner, DesChamps?" Her question surprised him, but he nodded, and she excused herself.

Dinner progressed without incident, and there were just enough leftovers to prove that no one went hungry, but not enough to bother keeping, so Cara was happy with the quantity prepared. She knew that Sarah hadn't planned on actually working that evening, so she sent her on home with her promises to see her at 11:00 am the next day.

According to her contract, Cara was supposed to be off on weekends, but since she didn't have anything planned, she decided to just work instead. It wasn't like they had anyone else lined up to take over yet, and it would give her something to do. That it was in Godric's house surely had nothing to do with it.

During the dinner hour, Godric and Isabel met for a low discussion in the den. Godric seemed to be keeping a low-keyed watch over the Weres while Isabel seemed to be watching him. He intently ignored the very slight smirk on his child's face. Cara ignored them both and instead kept an eye on the gravy. Apparently Weres loved gravy.

"You sent Sarah home?" came the unexpected query from an unexpected Godric.

Cara jumped, then automatically held her hand over her heart. "Geez, Godric, you're gonna give someone a heart attack doing that!" She laughed to take the sting out of her words. He smirked, happy with startling her. He took great pride in his natural stealth. "Yeah, she would have been glad to stay, but she was getting tired. She hadn't planned on actually starting work this evening and was really busy earlier today. She'll be back tomorrow, though."

Godric nodded. "It would be in her best interest to do so. Do you need any help?" His gaze indicated the mass of dirty dishes.

"Nah, I've got this." She pulled her iPod out of her pocket. "See? I'm ready for anything! Oh, and I know I'm supposed to be off tomorrow and Sunday, but I haven't heard that y'all have anyone else scheduled to take over on the weekends yet, I thought I'd just come in anyway."

He smiled and nodded as he allowed his blue gaze to travel slowly over her charming face. His grin deepened with his obvious effect on her. Her blushes were so enticing. Although he could not expect to have earned back her trust yet, he was heartened that the situation between them was so much relaxed now.

"I am pleased to hear it. You are most welcome here anytime you wish. Unfortunately we have an engagement tomorrow night in Charlotte, but I will see you before we leave." An unidentifiable expression flashed over Cara's face, but was gone in an instant. Godric raised his brow, but Cara only met his gaze steadily. "Earlier it seemed you wanted to say something, but hesitated. What was it, ma petite?"

She blushed a bit (again) at the endearment as thought for a second, then responded, "I was wondering why those guys attacked Isabel in the first place. From what y'all have said, that kind of attack is extremely rare. Weres just don't go around trying to eat vampires, especially four Weres all at once. The number of them alone is suspicious to me. Now, if it _was_ a random thing, then they're probably gone in the wind. But if it was some sort of assassination attempt, which to me seems much more likely, then are they going to try again? If so, when, where, and how? And why would anyone want to hurt Isabel in the first place? Who could possibly benefit from hurting her? I wish there was a way you could just _ask_ them, ya know?"

Ah, his Cara was indeed a bright one he thought as he gazed into her eyes. His hand lifted seemingly of its own volition to stroke one finger slowly down her cheek. Her deepening blush pleased him, as did the quickening of her heartbeat. His fingertip detoured to slide gently over her lower lip as he replied, "You ask exactly the right questions, ma chere. As much as we would like to consider this a random act, we cannot make that mistake." He reluctantly removed his finger. "I hope we can, ah, ask the Weres some questions, but unfortunately I do not yet know if that will be feasible."

Cara attempted to unscramble her brain. "You said you guys have a meeting in Charlotte tomorrow. Will you be safe? Is there a chance that this attack on Isabel was to prevent your going in the first place?"

Godric suddenly stilled as only a vampire can. For several long moments his blank gaze lingered on her face. He, the brilliant strategist, had not even _considered_ that possibility. Trust his Cara to think of such things! What was that expression...thinking outside of some box? Judging from previous conversations, she certainly did have a unique thought pattern.

In a blur, his hands rose to capture and tilt her face as his firm lips quickly covered hers. Startled, Cara reeled under the sweetly searing kiss loaded with awe and gratitude and no small amount of lust. Then after several leisurely sweeps of his cool tongue against her lower lip, he slowly pulled away. The length of his fangs was evident, but not at all intrusive. How such a sweet, gentle kiss packed an eternity into a mere few seconds, she'd never know. Maybe next time she'd have enough sense to open up for him? She might even try breathing, too.

He laughed, a joyous, relaxed sound reminiscent of their time spent together in her apartment that completely belied the seriousness of the current subject. "Ma belle, you have an amazing mind. It is as beautiful as you are." He quickly kissed her nose, then blurred to his study to consider all angles of this new theory. The enticing memory of the taste of her lips burned low and deep, but it was the enchanting image of her wide, startled gaze and her lips pink and swollen from his kiss that would warm him for eons.

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****Hello and Thank You to all the lovely people who've been kind enough to review, follow, and favorite my story! I really appreciate your support!****

***Like it? Love it? Let me know!***

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	19. Chapter 19

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 19~**

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**(Talk dirty to me...)**

"But I don't talk dirty," Cara gasped as Godric sucked her ear lobe between his lips as his hands lightly caressed the sides of her breasts before testing their weight in his palms. Her breath hitched when he started rubbing his thumbs over her hard nipples, over and over and over... _He_ wanted _her_ to talk dirty to _him_? Cara couldn't even control her own breathing, much less form coherent thoughts. And she really wished she could breathe better...breathing was good...his scent was so dangerously delicious and intoxicating...like leather..._gasp_...and pine.

"You do now," his voice, deep and dark, rumbled through his bare chest. His firm hands rose to her shoulders then stroked down to her waist. Her drawn-out moans of pleasure rewarded him when he grabbed her ass with both hands to slowly grind his hips into hers. If she only knew how the perfume of her arousal ignited his already inflamed senses...

She gasped and leaned her head to the side, unknowingly inviting his vampire's kiss. Suddenly her back was hard against the wall of his study, his hips grinding rhythmically into hers, and his lips and tongue and teeth and fangs were doing amazing things to the crook of her neck.

"Tell me what you want," he growled against her burning skin, "_exactly_ what you want." His open-mouth kisses and teasing nips combined with the quickening rhythm of his hips was driving her insane, so she decided to get some of her own back.

Godric jerked as if he'd been shocked with electricity when she started her own assault against his neck and body. Little tonguing nips mixed with great open-mouthed sucking kisses reduced him to incoherent groans and gasps as her hands roamed him from broad shoulders to tapered waist to firm, high ass.

He gently retaliated by raising her legs to circle his waist and grinding even deeper into her warmth as his lips and fangs returned to her neck. She shuddered at the more intimate contact and raised her hands to claw at his shoulders as the contact became more and more intense. The heat rolled and surged like a tidal wave crashing at the shores of her sanity until she shuddered hard and long. "Oh God - Godric!" she screamed his name as she rode out her pleasure. His lips claimed hers in a searing, crushing kiss as he found his own powerful release.

Cara came to with a gasp, then groaned as she rolled over and tried to find a cooler side to her pillow. These dreams were going to drive her out of her ever-loving mind. His surprise kiss earlier that evening certainly didn't help with the sleeping thing either. But...these dreams...

First she'd dreamed about him laughing and teasing and being so very sweet with her as he held her close and stroked his hand up and down her back.

Then she dreamed that she'd have to make some sort of decision about him. That dream hadn't made a lot of sense to her, but it was still...hot.

Then she'd had a long, drawn-out, hazy dream of him kissing her for what seemed like endless hours and whispering things she couldn't remember into her ear.

Then another time she'd dreamed about sleeping with him, just cuddling up with him in a warm, soft bed, inhaling his scent and having the most peaceful sleep ever.

And now this...wow...who knew sex dreams could seem so fucking _real_?

And why in the hell would she dream about Godric asking her to talk dirty, of all things? She didn't _do_ things like _that_. But these dreams... They seemed so..._real_. So _focused_. Fuck. It was going to be another long night. Did she dare try to go back to sleep and risk having yet another dream?

Not too very far away, a certain self-satisfied, slightly panting 2100-year-old vampire relaxed back into his comfortable, silk-and-satin bedding and envisioned the night the powerful dreams he could cause would become a hot, pounding reality. Her capacity for passion surprised him, and he had no doubt that when these dreams finally became a reality she would drive him to his knees. The anticipation was already driving him mad.

In the meantime, however, he had to concentrate on keeping her, and the rest of them, safe. DesChamps' trackers had finally caught the pack's scent. He hoped they were found soon, and that they were still in his state. He saw no reason to involve any authority other than his own in this matter. The only time he wanted his hands tied would be when Cara...

Fuck, he needed to get _out_ of this bed and get back to work. Their safety was much more important than his highly overactive imagination.

He checked his emails and voice messages and was pleased, if not surprised, that even more vampires owing him fealty had volunteered their assistance in securing and ending the missing pack. He had several older vampires in his area known for their skills in battle and planning. According to the bedside clock, his meeting with a select group of them would start in less than an hour.

Even if DesChamps trackers did locate the missing pack this night, he still needed to know if their agenda had been personal against him or his child, or if it was part of a larger plan. He needed to capture a couple of those Weres and "question" them before ending the rest of the pack.

He had no love for torture; killing was so much simpler. To him, if someone deserved torture, they therefore deserved death, and death was much quicker and cleaner. He could call in someone who better enjoyed such things. He knew immediately who was best qualified for such tasks, but hesitated to contact her. To get her, he would have to go through her sheriff...who was his _son_...who would immediately come to his aid whether he actually needed him or not.

Godric hated to interrupt the peace his son had finally achieved with his fairy. They were such a well-mated couple, and deserved the tranquility they finally found. Although in retrospect, his son's mate would make a perfect friend for his Cara. Perhaps she could help make her transition into his world a little easier? And he always did enjoy a visit with his son...

In the meantime, he would leave them be. Should alternative interrogation techniques become necessary, he was certain he could find someone...qualified. Besides, Isabel herself could be quite creative, and she deserved her revenge. As her Maker, it was his duty to oversee her education in such matters. Yes, he would wait to contact his _son_, and should the opportunity become available, allow his _daughter_ both her revenge and some needed experience.

Meanwhile he could bask in knowing that Cara seemed to like her position in his household. Throughout dinner she had held her hand well with the Weres; even that Anderson had kept his muzzle shut. Although he wished that she had not worked so hard, the Were Sarah had performed duties adequately enough. Perhaps he should consider employing someone else to help out? He definitely would if more Weres were assigned to the grounds.

Cara's willingness to work through her weekend pleased him greatly. She was definitely safer in his home under his care. He could also use this as an excuse to gift her financially, and he would get to see her. He hated that he would be gone most of her evening Saturday night...perhaps he could ask her to stay until his return?

Isabel was certainly pleased to have her around the estate. He got the impression that if Isabel had been free, she would have enjoyed spending time with Cara. Currently there were just too many tasks needing completion, but maybe soon she would be able to continue her friendship with the lovely human. If nothing else, he could lighten her task load by transferring some of her duties to Scott.

As his memory drifted back over the events of the evening, he had to wonder what Cara saw out of the kitchen window that fascinated her so. He had noticed her gazing out the window just often enough to arouse his curiosity. The view was nothing spectacular - that window simply overlooked the gardens. The external lights had not been engaged, so it would have been too dark for human eyes to discern much. He would ponder this later. At least that window provided a nice reflection of her sweet face.

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***Godric, you dirty, dirty dream-causing dog you! Can you cause me to have some of those dreams, too? Please?***

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	20. Chapter 20

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note". Thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story! I appreciate it!

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 20~**

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**(Pre-meeting...)**

Cara was convinced that the universe hated her.

First of all, her paltry sleep was interrupted with dreams. She'd hesitated to go back to sleep after a _particularly_ scalding one, but soon enough, sleep crept up and found her.

And she dreamed again. At least this time it didn't feel nearly as sharp or real as the first dream of the night. It was just as pleasant, although in a completely different way. It was much more peaceful and unfocused. In retrospect, it was like she had dreamed of a dream she'd dreamed earlier in the week. Apparently her subconscious really liked the idea of cuddling up with Godric in a warm, soft bed and sleeping the day away all curled up close in his arms.

Then 9:00 am came way too damn early. She reluctantly rose from her disheveled bed to begin her day, but neither her coffee nor her shower seemed to completely shake those two dreams from her mind.

So, with an hour to spare until her guards would arrive to escort her to "the house", she sat her weary, aching bones down to ponder it all. Then she got right back up to stuff a huge bottle of Advil into her purse. She'd been amazed when Isabel had rounded up three different bottles of pain meds, they were vampires after all, but they'd been small bottles and besides, it'd be rude to down their supply when she had her own.

Then she made another cup of morning salvation and parked herself at the kitchen table across from Godric's chair. She laughed a hollow laugh as she realized that she'd been automatically considering that chair "his".

_The kiss_. There was no escaping _the_ _kiss_. Even as softly as his lips had touched hers, her lips _still_ tingled. So did other parts of her body she'd rather not notice. She still wasn't sure how she managed to think coherently for the rest of her shift, much less finish cleaning up. She wasn't sure she did.

She just knew it couldn't be allowed to happen again.

No matter how dark and mysterious he tasted or how deliciously that taste lingered on her lips...even after two brushings of her teeth and several cups of coffee.

No matter how his scent lingered in her lungs even hours afterward and through a peach-scented shower.

Thankfully no one else had been around to note her mental wipe-out. The other vampires had finally either gone out on their nightly duties or were in their offices working. The Weres were patrolling except for Elise who was filling out some sort of paperwork in the dining room. Maybe that was why he'd chosen _then_ to kiss her? If that was the case, poor Sarah could never be allowed to leave early again.

Nope. No more kissy-face with the pretty vampire man. The pretty, sexy vampire man. The pretty, sexy, totally fucking fuckable vampire man. Fuck.

She held her head in her hands and groaned.

It wasn't that she was still upset or angry with him for the bullshittery of the night-before-last although she could definitely hold a big, juicy grudge with the best of them.

Granted, she didn't trust him nearly as much as she instinctively had at first, but then, she really didn't trust anyone all _that_ much anyway. Everyone would let you down or betray you at some point.

It wasn't that he was a vampire. The circumstances of one's birth (or re-birth) had nothing to do with the individual involved. The concept of them "dying" for the day was kind of unnerving, and she'd thought that their cooler body temperature would be unsettling...until he'd kissed her. Somehow those cool lips had caused a flame of epic proportions _right_ where it counted.

Yeah, she finally and truly admitted to herself, she wanted him. And she wanted to get to know him better. Much, much better. In too many ways he was absofuckinglutely perfect for her. But, in too many ways, she was all wrong for him, or anyone else for that matter.

So no more kissing. No touching. No more dreams if she could help it. She had to figure out how to keep him at arm's length...whether she really wanted to or not. It's just how it had to be.

Cara considered her "job". That whole job situation was pure guilt in motion on Godric's end. She knew that the "contract" she'd signed wasn't up to _every (_probably_ any)_ legal standard, just as she knew that the job, considering the premise on which it was offered, couldn't last all that long anyway. And, come on, he put her on the company insurances? Like any vampire would need _health_ insurance?

At first she'd tried to convince herself that she took the job simply to have something to do, and because she needed the money. Then she decided that she accepted the job simply because he'd seemed so remorseful over his personal ass-showing situation.

Finally she admitted to herself that she really and truly took the job so that she could see him every night. And she needed something to do. And the money _was_ pretty damn good...even if she did plan on giving him back exactly half of it at the end of her job. He might _should_ feel guilty, but not _that_ guilty!

*Ding-Dong*Ding-Dong*

Knock-knock-knock!

*sigh*

Mark.

Her ponderings were saved by the bell. She grabbed her purse and keys, took a last slug of her coffee, and went to "the house".

En route, she recalled Godric mentioning that the vamps were going to a meeting of some sort that night. She hoped this wasn't some sort of set-up or ambush by the Weres that had attacked Isabel. As serious as he was about security, though, she figured they'd be fine.

The stern part of herself hoped they'd have to leave soon after dark. That would be a good thing - less contact with him would mean...she'd miss him. Shit.

She'd known the man less than a week and was already going to miss him.

At 3:48 pm, Godric activated all appropriate screens from his hidden surveillance center. He was not disappointed.

"I think all history is relevant, even if most of it might seem boring or useless," Cara stated to Sarah as she went to the stove to stir something in a large pot. They were sitting at the kitchen table obviously taking a break while still keeping an eye on food preparation. "If you know the conditions that people were having to deal with during the times of their lives, then you'll have a better idea of _why_ they thought the way they did. Their reactions will make better sense if you know what made them perceive things the way they did."

She ladled a bit of whatever was in that pot into a small bowl and pursed her lips to blow on the contents to cool them off. Godric was glad for high-resolution cameras.

Apparently dissatisfied with the seasoning, she seemingly instinctively shook varying amounts of powders from several bottles into the pot. After she thoroughly stirred the contents for a moment, she inhaled pensively, thought for a second, then added another dash of something. After another stir and sniff, she seemed satisfied with her work and gratefully sat back down.

"Tired?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. I haven't been sleeping all that well, but that's actually kind of normal for me." She shrugged as if it actually _were_ normal for her to not sleep well.

Godric felt a huge stab of guilt. It was _his_ fault she was tired. As much as he thoroughly enjoyed causing her dreams, he knew he must needs wait a while before doing so again. Even though she did not know it yet, she was his to protect...even from himself.

He sighed. He was not accustomed to experiencing guilt, yet with Cara, he kept finding himself in situations where his actions resulted in wishing he had better control of himself. He resolved to better plan his actions...and reactions, he ruefully acknowledged.

"So that's what's up with all the coffee," continued Sarah. Godric's ears perked.

"Yup," Cara laughed. "That, and it's just my go-to drink. I sometimes have a tinge of asthma, and since carbonation seems to irritate it, that kills sodas. I go on a flavored green tea rampage every now and then, and sometimes hot black teas, but only when it's cold. I hate pure, plain, boring water on principle."

"What about lemonade or juices?" Sarah didn't share Cara's fascination with coffee.

"I don't really like lemonade, and juices are usually way too sugary." She patted her hip. "I love juices, but apparently my hips and tummy love them more," she laughed.

Sarah just shook her head. "Honey, they're called curves for a reason, and yours are just right. I don't want to hear that kind of talk out of you," she laughingly admonished.

Godric fervently agreed with the Were and considered giving her a raise. Cara's curves were luscious...fascinating...a land _begging_ for his exploration. He truly did not understand the modern obsession with artificially controlling a body's natural shape. To his vastly experienced eye, natural beauty was immensely preferable. Bigger, smaller, it did not matter, so long as the owner of the body was confident and healthy, the beauty was evident. Cara's intriguing body was just...infinitely more compelling.

"What about hot chocolate?"

"I'm allergic to chocolate."

"Wait...you're allergic to chocolate?! I've never heard of anyone being allergic to _chocolate_! But...what about..." Sarah exclaimed.

Cara smiled at the expected shock- outrage- sympathy reactions from Sarah.

"Oh, yeah. And, yep, that time of the month sucks donkey butt," she laughed as she shook her head. "I do love chocolate, and I _can_ nibble just a tiny amount every now and then, but any more than literally just a bite or two and the next day I'll have a horrible migraine and feel like I've been run over by an 18-wheeler. It's...no fun at all." She grimaced sadly.

Godric immediately revised the mental list of gifts he had been compiling and thanked the universe for this surveillance. He would have hated to gift her with something she loved but could not enjoy. He was surprised that she could not ingest chocolate, though. He had never heard of anyone being unable to tolerate it.

"Ok, enough about me. Tell me about you now," Cara invited.

He hrumphed in dissatisfaction. Although he was not surprised at her request since it fit well with her engaging personality, he was not in the least interested in anything to do with the female Were. He wished they would get back to regular conversation. He was vitally interested in Cara's take on...anything. Everything. He loved how her mind worked. Sometimes her thoughts were shockingly linear; sometimes they were shockingly circuitous; but either way, they were always interesting.

Godric recalled her surprising observation about the Weres' motives the evening before. He was disappointed in himself for not having thought of it before, but very proud of his Cara for seeing what he himself had missed.

Perhaps she was an intuitive of some sort? Even in close proximity he did not sense any active powers in the human, but there was just a little something different...a little something "other" about her that he simply could not place. The thought that she might be more than she seemed just added to the mystery and attraction that already drew him to her. Her charm, beauty, scent...those soft, sweet lips...

He sternly commanded himself to not think of that kiss. He was not usually so impulsive. He shook his head in amazement...he was actually _never_ so impulsive.

He realized that he should have waited longer to indulge in such things. Although she treated him amicably enough, he could tell that she still had not quite forgiven his verbal attack. He would not expect her to so soon and was eternally grateful that she had agreed to work in his home and even speak with him unnecessarily. A devilish smirk crossed his face. Regardless, he was glad he had kissed her...and would do so again at the earliest opportunity, sanity be damned.

He tuned back into the generic "about Sarah" portion of their conversation, then switched his attention back to the Were problem. Damn Weres. What _was_ their motive? How had they known where Isabel would be, and when? While her destination had not been that grocery store, still, someone had to have known of her business in that general area. Could the attack have been to keep him and his underlings from attending the meeting in Charlotte?

His presence was not required, but as a founding member of the Council, his attendance had been requested as an "honor". The purpose of this particular meeting escaped him. As far as he knew, not only was there nothing urgent being discussed, but what state business there was could easily have been handled via video conference. He could discern no real reason for a physical meeting. That he did not particularly like most of the attendees might have had something to do with his lack of enthusiasm.

He was certain, however, that he did not feel comfortable leaving Cara unprotected that night. He had called in a reputable vampire from his area to watch over her at night, but still he felt safe knowing that he was at least somewhat close should anything happen.

The actual flight to and from his destination was thankfully short, but even so, he felt a need to remain close to her. If nothing else, she might agree to remain in his home at least until they returned. Maybe he could entice her to wait for him by suggesting that he might notice something of interest regarding the Weres while at the meeting?

He tuned back into the on-going conversation with a slight smile. It certainly could not hurt to ask.

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****Am I the only one who dreams of dreams I've already dreamed? I hope not - it's a fantastic, amazing experience! Reviews, please!****

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	21. Chapter 21

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 21~**

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**(Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast...)**

"Had you ever met any Weres or vampires before the attack?" Sarah was asking Cara.

Godric's ears twitched a bit. How much of their conversation had he missed?

"Nope. I knew that vampires existed, of course, but until that day, I'd never knowingly met either one. And it would've been nice if my Intro to Wereology had been, say, _you_, not four snarly, growly, glow-eyed murderers." Cara shivered at the memory.

He was glad to see that this time Sarah got up to stir whatever was in the huge pot on the stove.

"So, I have to ask, what do you think about Weres and vampires now that you know we're all real?" Sarah asked from the stove.

Godric focused intently on her upcoming words.

Cara felt a tingling in her shoulders, but ignored it. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "Honestly? Y'all all just seem like people to me. Granted some of y'all have been alive half of forever, and some others of y'all sprout fur and paws at regular intervals, but in the end, y'all are all just people."

Sarah turned from the stove. "So you don't really see any difference between Weres, vampires, and humans?"

"Not really. Naturally everyone's perspective is different, but then, every individual's perspective is shaped solely on their own experiences anyway. I can no more accurately imagine being able to change into another form and run wild and free through nature than I can accurately imagine living through all the part fascinating, part boring as hell history some of our vampires have lived through."

"Wow - you're really open-minded for a human."

Cara laughed. "In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably point out that I'm one of those "we're all one universe" people. I see absolutely no reason why different groups of people can't just get along. One group of people deciding to not like another group of people for arbitrary, racist reasons makes no sense to me. Why cut off your nose to spite your face?"

"That makes sense, but it's really hard to overcome bias when it's learned at home. Most Weres are taught to hate, fear, and distrust vampires just because they are vampires," Sarah admitted. "Our pack is a bit different, though. DesChamps and Godric have a good working relationship, and they respect each other."

"Why would Weres hate, fear and distrust vampires," Cara wondered. "Is it because vampires live so long? Their strength?" She was honestly confused.

"I haven't met many vampires, but the ones I have met, well, even most of them seem so...mean and snotty. Aloof. Like they're better than everyone else, and like no one else is _worthy_ of being in their little group." Sarah grimaced as she realized how awful she sounded.

Godric smirked and rolled his eyes. Trust a Were...

Cara just laughed. "Of course they do, honey."

Shocked, he sat up straight and raised both brows. This conversation he was listening in on was not what he expected.

Sarah looked totally confused. She'd expected Cara to somehow defend the vampires, especially considering what she'd heard about her and Godric.

Cara laughed. "Before I elaborate, do you think the guards would like cream cheese pie for dessert?"

Sarah looked even more confused, but agreed. "Yeah, uh, that sounds good."

"Then I need to get started on them now. Ok, cherry or blueberry? You choose...I have commitment issues."

Commitment issues? Godric's focus sharpened.

"Erm...blueberry?" Sarah still looked confused.

Cara laughed even harder. "Sorry! I should have warned you. My brain tends to think about forty-nine different things at once...I can barely keep up with my own self sometimes, so don't worry about it."

The ancient vampire shamelessly eavesdropping from his hidden surveillance room took note...and waited impatiently to hear Miss Cara explain herself.

She gathered enough ingredients to prepare three of the easiest pies ever and talked while she worked.

"For what it's worth, here's what I think about that infamous vampire facade. It's...mostly a facade...at least I _hope_ it is." She reached over and took a sip of her coffee as Sarah chuckled.

Cara thought for a moment, wondering what to say and what to leave unsaid. She knew that Godric and Isabel had shared information with her in private with the sometimes spoken and sometimes unspoken request to keep it private. But, some things just made common sense. That, she decided, was the route she'd travel.

"Imagine if you were looking into the eyes of eternity. Imagine you've lived for 300 years...500 years...1000 years, or even longer. Now imagine all the mortals you've seen live and die during all those countless years. It only makes sense that vampires would develop their primary relationships amongst themselves. In so far as I know, they are the sole members of a very specific group: immortals." She paused as she measured the lemon juice.

Sarah admitted, "Ok, that makes sense. They're not going to want to get emotionally attached..." She dwindled off, not wanting to say anything awkward to Cara considering her possible relationship with one of the oldest vampires in America.

"Exactly. I can't imagine what a toll it take on a vampire to get involved with a mere mortal knowing how little time will pass before that mortal meets their expiration date. So it makes sense to me that the older a vampire gets, the less likely they are to knowingly choose to become involved with mortals except for the most mundane of tasks. Blood, sex, or business, and that's it."

Godric pondered Cara's words, and wondered if she actually thought that about him. He strongly suspected that she had no idea how he really considered her.

Cara paused to work on the desserts for a moment, then continued, "So, to me, that would explain the aloofness. They're not being mean; they're being cautious. I'm not saying a vampire can't or won't have a relationship of some sort with a mortal, but it'd be in their best interest _not_ to. You can only have your heart broken so many times before you stop risking it. But, yes, they _are_ distant and aloof, just, it's for a completely understandable, valid reason."

The Were nodded in understanding.

Godric's eyes grew sad as he momentarily relived the weight of Cara's words. Her empathy was astounding...she was exactly right.

He jerked his head up and stilled completely. His blue eyes blazed as it occurred to him that _his_ _Cara might actually be an empath of some sort. _It was an idea definitely worth considering...and investigating_. _He refocused his attention onto her words.

"Now, about the mean part. I think vampires are just like everyone else: some are remarkably good; some are nasty little shits; and most are average. Either way, what's the one thing a potentially immortal being is going to want to do?"

Sarah shrugged, interested but clueless.

"Survive." Cara held up the electric beaters to clue Sarah (and, incidentally, the eavesdropping vampire) about the impending noise-fest. A few minutes later, she poured the pie mix into the shortbread pie crusts and put them into the refrigerator. After washing her hands and making another cup of coffee, she doled out a couple of Advil from her bottle now living beside the coffee machine and gratefully plopped back down.

"If you realize that you have the ability to live half-way to forever, you're going to take measures you can to increase the odds that you'll _actually_ live that long. And, one of the main ways to increase your odds is to not have any exploitable weaknesses." She took a sip of her coffee and swallowed her Advil.

Godric felt another spasm of guilt, knowing that if she had gotten better sleep, she might not be feeling as bad.

"Now, I figure that everyone, no matter what species, has weaknesses. Some of us have more than others, but in the interest of survival, you have to keep your Achilles' heel protected. You can ignore your soft spots and die young, or you can minimize them to the best of your ability. Above all, you don't admit to having them, period. One of the best ways to deflect anyone else from seeing your weaknesses is to visually subdue your emotions, and act what _we_ would consider mean. It's an automatic perception that if someone is unemotional and mean, they're stronger, and therefore...have fewer weaknesses you can exploit to take them down." Cara paused to give Sarah a chance to comment if she wanted to. Apparently she didn't.

"I can just imagine that, after living a few centuries in a group of people appearing to be mean and aloof, and who hide behind unemotional facades, after a while, you're going to be acting the same way. Blending in with the herd is also a great way of escaping the attentions of those who would hurt you. I can also imagine that, after a few centuries of only considering mortals as food and sex toys, or maybe at best a business associate, you'd lose your tendency to consider that your _food_ or your _sex_ _toy_ has actual feelings."

Sarah's expression was a blend of vaguely enlightened and vaguely confused.

His was fascinated. He had the slightly uncomfortable feeling that he could sit and listen to Cara talk for days on end and still remain captivated. He also strongly suspected that she had simplified her reasoning in deference to her new Were friend. Such intelligence! Such innate understanding from someone who had known vampires for less than a week!

He glanced at the time code on the screen just as he noticed Cara glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall. He could officially rise to see her in about fifteen minutes. Should he not already be accustomed to this odd feeling of anticipation?

It galled him that he had to go to that damn meeting this evening, but he hoped he could discover more about what he suspected was a Were plot while there. He still could not figure out who had what to gain by attacking his child, but it could well have something to do with this meeting...or perhaps this meeting could simply be used to draw him or one in his retinue out into a less defendable position. Thanks to his Cara, he now anticipated the possibility of an attack either en route or while there. Protective measures were now in place. He had also doubled the guards for his estate, just in case.

He wanted to find a way to entice her into staying at his home at least until he returned, and thought to pique her curiosity about the reasoning behind the attack as a means to such ends. While tempting, he would not risk ordering her to remain. He did not think that would go over so well, and would not resort to such tactics unless her safety were truly at risk. Then, all bets were off.

"...above everyone else. I mean, seriously, would you _want_ to shake hands or become emotionally _involved_ with _your_ food? EWE!"

Sarah and Godric both laughed out loud at Cara's impersonation of a properly horrified vampire. He glanced at the external monitors and not only noted the proper placement of his Were guards, but that the evening's slow darkening had begun.

Cara got up to wash the few dishes dirtied during the pie preparation.

"Why don't you just use the dishwasher," Sarah asked.

Godric wanted to know, too.

"It's just simpler to go ahead and do it by hand. Plus, I can see if I've left a dirty spot on a plate or whatever. Most dishwashers can't." Sarah laughed. "I'll use it if I have a huge load of stuff to wash, otherwise it's just simpler to do them by hand. You can use it all you want, though. I really don't care either way."

Godric was objectively curious about his apparent fascination with listening to a human woman discussing methods of cleaning dishes. He rolled his eyes at himself then vamp speeded through his rising ablutions.

Four minutes later he entered the kitchen eager to discover what fascinating subject the females were currently discussing. It only plagued him a small bit that he actually _was_ fascinated.

According to the slight dilation of Cara's eyes as she slowly admired him from toe to head, he had chosen his casual "meeting" attire well. He refused to dress up unless absolutely necessary. He felt he was just too old to waste the time or effort.

Cara couldn't help but stare. Dark brown leather shoes led to well-fitted dark brown pants, which led to a dark brown belt with a gold buckle, which led to a soft brown sweater with a V-neck just low enough to hint at some tattoos, which led up to a handsome face wearing a shit-eating grin and a devilishly raised brow over startlingly blue eyes trained directly at her.

Her face flamed. Her mouth watered. Her heartbeat revved into overdrive and a small swarm of butterflies invaded her tummy. She gulped. So much for avoiding the sexy vampire beast this night...

"You like?" He did not think she could blush any redder, but he had to try. She was just so damn adorable.

Surprisingly she snorted, then laughed. "You know you look absolutely edible, Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast. So which modeling agency are you signed with?"

Isabel, the only other vampire actively living on site, walked in just in time to hear Godric's resounding laugh. It had been...she couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd heard such unrestrained joy from him. She did wonder why Cara's face was so red, and why the Were Sarah was grinning like a loon.

Cara suddenly decided the huge pot of beef stew simmering on the stove needed a good stir. A good...long...stir. Godric decidedly approved of the view of her ass as she faced the stove. He gave an elegant shrug when he heard Isabel's virtually silent snicker at the direction of his gaze. Sarah gasped when he vamp-sped over to the stove to stand behind Cara, who started at his sudden closeness.

"What have we here," he asked, his lips so close to her ear that she felt his cool breath.

"A heart attack waiting to happen courtesy of your vamp speed," Cara quipped.

Godric laughed again. He was delighted with her playful mood, and with the fact that she was not dodging his attentions as he had suspected she might.

"It seemed like a good night for a nice big pot of thick, chunky beef stew since it's getting colder," she explained as she finished stirring.

He had noticed that the food Cara prepared did not carry quite the same stench as most human food, and figured it was because the ingredients she used were fresh and recognizable, even if he did not remember the names of the roots or meats.

"I have to admit, the food you create does not smell as bad as most I have encountered." Once again his words were spoken directly into her ear.

"Was that a back-handed compliment? Should I say "thank you" or "bite me"?" Cara laughed, knowing it was a compliment but wanting to tease him; he could be so much fun. She sidled over toward the coffee machine. His nearness was definitely interfering with her internal circuitry.

He silenty dogged her movements exactly step for step. When she stopped, he inhaled her scent with obvious enthusiasm then purred in her ear, "Ma petite, never say _that_ particular phrase to a vampire unless you well mean it."

Cara bared her neck infinitesimally and ignored the goose bumps suddenly pebbling her flesh. "What, "thank you"? What could vampires possibly hold against _that_ particular phrase?" Her lips trembled as she tried to stifle her giggle.

He took the half-step needed to bring his front flush with her back, and growled low knowing full well she would feel it. "Woman," he paused as he braced his arms on either side of her to effectively trap her between his quickly reacting body and the counter, "I think you know exactly what I mean." His voice lowered seductively. "But, just in case you have any questions..." He paused to very slowly, very carefully, glide his fangs down her throat to the curve of her neck.

He was playing fire and loving the burn. His fangs ached, his mouth grew wet, his cock throbbed...and he would not have changed a thing. Her sweet scent grew rich and sultry with her arousal and the moist pulse of her heart thrummed faster.

Giving further into temptation, he leisurely lapped his tongue back up her neck, reversing the route of his fangs. She shivered, and he tasted sunlight and honey and jasmine and hot, sweet nights. Suddenly, every instinct he had screamed for him to bite, to bite and suck and rub and fuck and...

"Godric, what are you doing back there," she gasped with a breathy laugh. Cara had a feeling that the rules of the game were changing, and she hadn't read the rule book. She "innocently" leaned forward to break his way-too-tempting contact with her neck, not realizing it would also grind her ass into his throbbing cock.

He almost came where he stood. It took all of his 2100 years of training to keep from shredding her clothes and bending her over the damn counter that very second.

Thankfully by the time she made her coffee, he had managed to regain just enough of his self-control to appear sane. His fangs and cock had other ideas and refused to cooperate, but at least he could act like he had not been a second away from fucking the pure living hell out her...witnesses be damned.

Sensing the need to provide a distraction, Isabel grabbed two bottles of blood from the fridge and proceeded to heat them up in the microwave. Godric could not decide if he wanted to thank her or beat her for her timely interruption. Since he had never once chosen corporal punishment for his female child even when she was a newborn, and certainly was not about to start now, he decided to go with thanking her. Grudgingly.

Getting the idea that a change in subject was a good idea, Cara asked, "So, y'all've got that meeting tonight?"

Rolling her eyes as she shook her bottled blood, Isabel nodded her head. "And I guarantee it's going to be a snooze-fest, too." Isabel had no love for politics or meetings...just like her Maker. Everyone studiously ignored the burning shimmer still vivid in Godric's eyes.

Suddenly inspired to move, Sarah tore her extremely curious eyes away from the others and stirred the stew. She cleared her throat, and asked meekly, "Cara, do you think we should make some corn bread to go with this?"

Cara looked over at her and gave her a huge smile. "What a great idea! There are a couple of #10 cast iron pans under the counter. That should make enough bread for everyone, shouldn't it?"

"Sure! Erm, what's a "number 10"?" Sarah kind of laughed.

"Oh, sorry. My mom always called them a "number 10" cast iron frying pan, but it actually means a cast iron frying pan that's 10 inches in diameter," Cara explained as she got the milk out of the fridge.

Godric drained the bottle of warmed blood Isabel handed him, then, "Cara, I would like to ask you to do something for me this night."

The brief but smoldering look Cara threw him over her shoulder would keep him up in days to come in more ways than one. She turned her head and gave the jug of milk to Sarah.

"All right, what's up?" She wasn't going to look at him. Not going to look. Not going to...

He waited until she finally turned back to him, then caught her glance to pay back her in kind. With interest.

"I would ask that you remain here until after we return."

"Why? How long do you think you might be gone?"

"Most likely no more than several hours, but I would feel better knowing you are safe here in my home just in case there is some sort of ambush." He tried to keep his gaze from focusing on her bottom lip as she bit it, and failed miserably. "I have safety measures already in place for both the flights and the location of the meeting, so we will be fine. It is your safety that concerns me."

A worried look crossed her face as she lowered her eyes to study her feet. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter. Godric felt a cold shard of ice in his chest. He in no way liked the signs he felt were of withdrawal and immediately sped to her.

He lifted her chin to meet her eyes. "What is it, Cara-mia?"

She searched his intent stare for a moment, then replied, "I'm just thinking that if it's a person they're after, then they'll most likely attack you guys en route. It's possible they could wait till you got to the location of the meeting, but if there are going to be a lot of others there, witnesses as it were, they probably won't do anything. But, if it's a thing that they're after, then won't they come here to search for it the second they know you're all gone?"

"Yes, that is entirely possible, but even so you will be much safer here than at your own home. This estate is much easier to protect than your home, and I have doubled the vampire and Were guards. You will be safest here."

He held her gaze until she looked away. "You're really worried about this, aren't you," she quietly asked. He did not like that she seemed determined to avoid looking directly at him, and that she still had her arms wrapped around herself. Had he pushed too far, too fast? It certainly seemed as if she were retreating. Perhaps he should allow her some breathing room. There was definitely a new and curious hesitance in her manner. He would find his patience somehow and take comfort in her obvious attraction to him.

"Yes. If it were my decision, you would live here until I can end this threat." She stiffened at his comment, but he did not mention it. "As it is, I would ask that you at least stay here until we return. It is possible that I might learn something about the attack from someone at the meeting."

Aha! Godric was pleased. Curiosity piqued in 3...2...

Cara sighed as she took the bait. "Ok. I'll stay till y'all get back. Just...be careful, ok?" She meant to simply peep up at him to let him know she was serious in wanting him to be careful, but his eyes caught hers in their burning blue fire, and she couldn't make herself look away.

He slowly brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. "I will come home to you, ma chere." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead just as the rest of his retinue entered the front door.

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****Welcome aboard to all my new followers, and thank you for the favorites! So, what did you think of this chapter? I love your reviews!****

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	22. Chapter 22

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 22~**

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**(Time was a wretched bitch of an enemy)**

Godric held Cara's questioning gaze for a long moment, then reluctantly left to join the other slightly pinker vampires as they entered the den. They had obviously taken the time necessary to feed well before leaving for the meeting. Although they supported the so-called mainstreaming movement, all vampires knew that feeding from live donors was necessary for maximum benefits. As they were entering a situation with unknowable variables, they needed to be at their most alert and capable. Even Isabel and Godric planned to feed from bagged blood during the trip.

Godric considered his increasingly difficult-to-control reactions to Cara and determined that he, himself, should consider a live feeding in the near future...maybe even several live feedings at this rate. This errant realization surprised him. It had been a very long time indeed since he had felt the need to feed from a live donor. Bagged and bottled blood had more than adequately met his basic requirements, meaning he did not have to waste time seeking prey or dealing with donors.

This suited him quite well although from time to time he did miss the chase and the moist throbbing of a heartbeat beneath his fangs...which reminded him of Cara...which reminded him exactly of why he suddenly needed to plan a feeding from a live donor. And soon. He considered himself very fortunate to have developed such extraordinary self-control over the centuries. Otherwise he knew beyond any doubt that, as strongly as he desired Cara, he would have already fucked her half to death by now.

He studied his retinue. In vampire terms, the others were agitated about the upcoming meeting, meaning to mortal observers they moved and spoke maybe three percent more than usual. They stood around the den in a loose group discussing strategies and the agenda for the trip.

Cara listened as best she could as she and Sarah finished preparation of the Weres' evening meal. The one huge pot of soup had magically morphed into two huge pots of soup by the time she finished adding all the ingredients, so she no longer had any worries about whether there would be enough to serve all the Weres present. She wasn't sure if she was _supposed_ to feed the temporary guards or not, but she certainly wouldn't turn anyone one away whether it was her home or not. Food was food and was meant to be shared.

Some of the many temporary guards were staying at the house to protect it (and her) during the vampires' absence, but quite a few were travelling with the vampires as well. They would need to eat their evening meal quickly and then leave. So...supper would come early this night.

As she finished with her preparations, Cara overheard Alaric and Godric discussing strategy philosophies. "Divide and conquer" was apparently running neck-in-neck with "united force".

"United force," she quietly interrupted from the kitchen.

"What?" Godric looked surprised by her interruption, but appeared glad enough to speak with her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear y'all. To give you the benefit of my brilliant yet unasked-for opinion, I think you should go with "united". Divide and conquer works best when you know who your enemy is. But when you're unsure, you need to maintain the offense, and in an unknown situation, you and yours need to have each other's backs. So...don't divide. Unite."

Alaric and Godric stared at her, then at each other, then back to her.

"You...you heard us?" Alaric openly displayed an amazingly un-vampire emotion: shock was distinctly evident in his sea-green eyes.

Cara laughed then grinned at the males. Alaric was definitely adorable in that old-timey barbarian sort of way. He might not have been an _actual_ barbarian, but he definitely gave off that vibe. A leather tie secured his long blond hair, and black slacks and a black silk shirt barely contained his stocky, muscled frame, but his face showed his eons of experience.

Cara blinked, unsure of what all the fuss was about. "Y'all need to slow it down and speak up a little, but yeah, of course I heard - you're standing right over there. And I really do think it would be to your benefit to show a tight, united front since you don't know what you're walking into. Too bad you don't have any bugs you could plant down there. Who knows what you might hear then."

Godric just had to go and cock that brow.

"Hey, I value people's privacy a _lot_ more than most, so I'm not usually one for eavesdropping, but when you need to know something for safety's sake, you _need_ to know." Cara shrugged.

Alaric exchanged a look with Godric then sped off. Godric looked very slightly guilty for a split second until the doorbell rang.

Cara later realized that she might should've been more alarmed when five vampires (and the two Weres present) went into immediate alert mode. Instead, she shrugged and went to help Sarah ready the serving area for the soup, salad, dressings, bread, and pies.

Ryan answered the door for DesChamps after checking the monitor. Cara set another soup bowl, salad plate and dessert plate out. Somehow she wasn't surprised to see the packmaster in time for dinner, but she didn't mind a bit. He was a genuinely nice older man who just seemed a bit lonesome.

Godric invited DesChamps back to his office. He figured this would be an excellent time to change Anderson's assignment. There was no way he was going to leave that mangy little mutt roaming around free especially when he was half a state away. Mark, he would tolerate for now...at least he was respectful.

As soon as Godric and DesChamps reentered the common rooms, Cara let them know that dinner was ready whenever they were.

Because there were so many Weres, it was decided that they would eat in two shifts with those accompanying the vampires sitting first. Cara was somewhat familiar with a few of them, including that smartass Anderson who seemed confused about why he was eating with the "wrong" group.

DesChamps clarified the situation for him. "Anderson, you're with them."

Anderson balked. He glanced over at Cara who was studiously ignoring them all, then he glared at Godric, who glared right back. The little prick wanted to argue, but even he knew to obey his packmaster. It also occurred to him that no one could out-glare a determined vampire. He would bide his time.

Godric glanced over to Cara to see her reaction to the current pissing contest only to find her gazing out the kitchen window. He again wondered what in the darkness could capture her attention so fully.

There! That particular expression flitted across her face again, yet once again it was gone in an instant. There was something about that expression that ate at him, something that he did not like. If he had noticed it happening when they were face-to-face, he could easily have asked outright what was wrong, but since it was such a fleeting phenomenon witnessed courtesy of a reflection, he had to let it pass. For now. Immediately she reverted to her normally cheerful persona. What an enigma...

Gervaise called his attention away from Cara and the window to focus on their preparations. For the next half hour, the Weres ate while the vampires planned, gathered documents, and double-checked everything possible. The moment the first shift of Weres finished, the second shift sat down to hurry through their own meal. No one would leave until the property was properly guarded. Sincere compliments were freely given to the cooks, but everyone felt the rush.

Although the meeting was in Charlotte, it wouldn't take them long to arrive even though flying was necessary. Godric had his own private airstrip close by and it was permanently stocked with three private jets holding various numbers of passengers. Transportation would never be a problem for him.

Finally it was almost time for the vampires to leave. After visually ensuring that Anderson was safely installed in one of the black SUV's taking them to the airstrip, Godric sped back to the kitchen to have a last word with Cara. Isabel just shook her head as she waited by the door.

Cara tried to ignore all the eyes studiously not watching her with their master and didn't even bother pretending a fascination with the dishes she was preparing to wash. She'd just emptied her hands and turned to face him when she found that he was much closer than she'd thought.

He could not help but smooth a fingertip down the pink curve of her cheek. As she leaned a bit into his touch, he cupped her cheek in his palm. "All totaled there are twelve Weres and six vampires guarding this estate during our absence. I estimate we will return within the next five hours or so. If we are detained, I will call. Now, Cara, promise me you will not leave this house until we return."

No matter how softly he spoke the words, this was the closest Godric had ever come to giving her an order. Normally her problems with authority would have reared their ugly little heads and caused one hell of a scene. The frisson of anger was already gathering in her lower back as tendrils started crawling up her spine, but the concern she saw in his cobalt blue eyes stemmed the tide and soothed her ire. This wasn't an order so much as a strong, heart-felt wish.

She nodded. She couldn't make herself say the actual words, but she would do as he...asked.

"Godric, shouldn't you take more guards with _you_, though? You don't know exactly what you're walking into over there." Concern glowed softly from her darkened brown eyes as she bit her lower lip. She didn't stop her hand from sliding up his hard chest and resting over where his heart should have beat. He was so close, his scent so intoxicating, his eyes so blue.

How rare it was to hear her say his name! And the way it sounded coming from her plump, pink lips...the same lips she was worrying with her blunt human teeth...his fangs dropped to full attention. Fear, fear for _his_ safety, spiked her sweet, fragrant blood with a sharp, acrid scent. The warmth of her hand over his heart...his low purr thrummed in the air.

He smoothed his thumb over her ever-so-slightly swollen bottom lip, slid his palm into the hair at the back of her head, and held her in place as he lowered his lips to hers.

Surprise parted Cara's lips, and that was all the invitation Godric needed. He had not meant to kiss her at all...and certainly had not meant to taste her so fully. He had not meant to so thoroughly explore the depths of her sweet mouth nor had he meant to rub and tease with her tongue in such an exquisite imitation of the act his body so desperately craved.

When she quietly mewed and slowly smoothed her hands up his chest to lightly caress his throat before encircling his neck, he certainly did not mean to back her into the counter. He did not mean to further deepen the kiss and grind his painful erection into her body.

When he finally felt her need to breathe, he reluctantly withdrew just enough to allow her to do so, then lowered his head to reclaim that poor, worried bottom lip for a few more seconds of timeless bliss.

Slowly, with supreme reluctance, Godric raised his head and memorized the sensual bliss softening his Cara's face. For a long second her eyes remained closed and her kiss-swollen lips remained parted, and he could not tolerate the thought of any other male seeing her like that. That look...that look was for him alone and he would slaughter anyone who tried to take her from him. He immediately cradled her face into the safety of shoulder and simply held her strong and close for a long minute.

Time was a wretched bitch of an enemy. He had to go. With utmost reticence he moved a step away from Cara and gazed into her still-dreamy eyes before soothing his thumbs over her dark brows. He kissed her forehead and walked determinedly out the door.

It was going to be one hell of a long evening.

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****Welcome aboard to all my new followers, and thank you for the favorites! So, what did you think of this chapter? I love your reviews - they're called "incentive to write more"!****

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	23. Chapter 23

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 23~**

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**(Coffee...)**

Godric was certain of four things: he did not like being so far removed from Cara; the Were attack had nothing to do with any of the Council members as far as he could discern; when he returned, he was making Cara a cup of coffee, and she was moving in whether she liked it or not.

There were the usual plots running rampant at the state Council headquarters, but none of them seemed to involve the Were pack who had attacked his child. He had no use for many of the Council members, but for the most part they were not any more underhanded than vampires in general, which of course meant they would consider attacking at any sign of weakness. But they were not his concern.

Cara was. The farther away from her he travelled, the less he liked it. He had ensured her safety as much as was possible, but that was not the source of his discomfort, or at least not the complete reason.

It just felt wrong to be so far away from her. His sense of unease grew with every mile between them. He could not explain exactly why he felt such distance between them was wrong; he just knew that it was.

The location of the meeting was a large but purposefully nondescript building just outside of the large city. Although plain to discourage human interest, the interior was quite well-appointed. The building was divided into a vast series of offices and conference rooms geared to handle both state and Council business.

Unfortunately for this night's agenda, its spacious facilities were fairly teaming with vampires. While the younger members of his group were not affected by the nearness of so many others, Godric hated it.

It wasn't that he hated people; he just didn't particular like being around large groups of them. He much preferred smaller groups, or even being left alone, to having to deal with annoying people in quantity. That was exactly why he did not have live-in help and encouraged only his child to reside with him. Other close members of his retinue maintained emergency quarters at his estate; he just did not encourage them to...linger.

As expected, there was a small amount of actual business needing attention during this meeting, but the vast majority of issues could easily have been settled via video conference or even over the telephone. But...some vampire did love their pompous procedures.

He was half-way through the asinine meeting when the partial cure for at least one of his problems dawned on him. It was so simple, so subtle. It made so much sense he could have kicked himself for not having done so before now.

Those who knew him would have been extremely uncomfortable had they seen the devious twisting of his lips.

He was thankful that during his secret observations he had studied the mechanics of her coffee machine because at some point very soon after his return, he would make Cara...a cup of coffee.

The text he received from DesChamps fifteen minutes later proved the validity of this plan, and inspired another.

Isabel immediately noticed the sudden change in her Maker. In a split second his mood had altered from bored and more than a little self-satisfied to murderously furious. His cold steel gaze caused involuntary shivers from those seated closest to him.

Mentally he commanded his child to attend to the meeting as he engaged in a flurry of texts. Soon enough his mood calmed down to simply furious while his retinue quietly traded questioning glances amongst themselves. Gervaise, Godric seethed to note, did not.

"So...you and Godric, huh..." Sarah was helping put away the clean dishes as Cara was wiping every surface in the kitchen.

"Erm, well, I don't know," Cara shrugged and tried to pretend she wasn't blushing furiously. "I mean, we've talked a little bit, but, well..." She really wished her friend would change the subject.

Her guards, Mark and Elise, were roaming inside house somewhere, so maybe they wouldn't over hear this particular conversation. It wasn't like they'd missed _the kiss_ earlier, but still, it wasn't like she was used to the whole "kiss and tell" routine.

Sarah just smiled knowingly. "From what I saw, I'd say _he_ knows, even if you don't. I've never seen a kiss like that before," she laughed. "So, is that the norm?"

Cara blushed redder. "Uh...that was the first time..."

"Well then that was one _helluva_ first kiss, I can tell ya that!" Sarah was opening laughing now.

"Yup." Cara finally laughed.

"Ok, I have to ask you something, then I'll shut up...for now..." Sarah waited.

"Ok, one question." Cara signed.

"Wasn't it...cold?" Sarah didn't want to insult anyone, but she was genuinely curious.

"Huh?"

"I mean, their skin is so cold, so I was wondering if he wasn't cold when he was kissing you like that."

"Oh. Um, well, no, I don't think so?" Cara thought for a moment. "If he was, I didn't notice it. I know that probably doesn't make any sense, but there it is."

Sarah finally gave her a break, figuring she'd talk to her about it more the next day. She actually planned on quizzing her new friend as much as she could tomorrow... This was by far the easiest job Sarah had ever had, and she was surprised with how very well she got along with Cara, vampires aside.

Not long afterwards, they had the kitchen spotless and meals planned for the next day. With much prodding from Cara, Sarah reluctantly left to go to a birthday party for one of her friends.

Finally left to her own devices (barring the sudden reappearance of her guards), Cara made a cup of coffee and decided to relax on one of the huge comfy sofas scattered around the den and watch some TV. There was no telling how long it'd be until Godric and the rest of them returned from their meeting. After deciphering the overly-complicated media set-up, she found a showing of her favorite old disaster flick, and settled in with the sofa pillows to watch the world get covered with snow. It felt so nice to kick her shoes off and free her hair from the ponytail.

She never noticed when her guards checked up on her or covered her up with one of the handy new throws.

A few hours later, Godric quietly convened the conference in his study. The hastily gathered vampires and Weres were as quiet as they could be so as not to disturb the sleeping Cara, but their anger was impossible to miss. After compiling reports from all the Weres and vampires on guard duty that night, Godric, a livid Isabel, and a pissed off DesChamps reevaluated and strengthened their plans.

As eager as he was to implement the first part of his plan, he did not wish to disturb her rest, especially with such unsettling news. He also did not look forward to the impending discussion, especially since he did not know how she would react to the way things would have to be.

She was so lovely curled up asleep on the sofa, one hand between her cheek and the pillow, the other palm up nearby. Her shoes were arranged neatly, side-by-side, nearby. Godric smiled at the lovely dark pink color gracing her toe nails. He noticed the elastic holder for her hair lying on the table near her coffee.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed in deep her sleep, her lips softened, her breaths slow and even. Peaceful in her repose, she appeared much younger than normal. A strange pang crossed his chest as she wished she could always be so obviously free of stress.

He inhaled deeply. The common areas of the mansion were drenched with her scent from her extended presence. He was glad the other vampires had chosen to go on to their own homes. He knew exactly how enticing her scent was.

He strongly debated simply scooping her up into his arms and carrying her down to his quarters...but knew that once he had her safely in his bed, he would never be able to let her go.

As hard as this waiting was, he would willingly endure it. What was worth having was worth achieving in its own time. He would not rush her, he thought as he so very gently stroked her soft dark hair. Sometimes, the anticipation was indeed half the pleasure, but in this instance... Somehow he knew that the claiming of her would vastly overshadow even the most intoxicating sweetness of this anticipation.

Realizing he was in real danger of simply watching her sleep through the night, he reluctantly rose, and took her empty coffee cup to the kitchen. Sure enough, a few minutes later the sound of the machine finishing the brewing of her coffee gently roused Cara from her sleep. After adding her fake sweetener and "too much" milk, he sped back to the now-stretching Cara.

"Godric?" Her soft sleepy voice caressed his skin.

"Ah, fair morning ma chere." He smiled at her half-hearted attempt to sit up as he knelt in front of her.

She gazed at him as she further considered waking up.

"Rising is not so easy, eh?" He gently teased her while smoothing her hair back from her face.

She smiled ruefully as she vaguely shook her head. "Takes me forever to find the arms of Morpheus, then takes me forever to escape them," she mumbled sleepily. Waking up was never the best part of her day...or night.

His Persian blue eyes softened with affection as she yawned into back of her hand then stretched with relish.

She suddenly sat up straight from her prone position. "Ha, I'm up! Sorta..." They both laughed as she scrubbed at her face. "Coffee? You made me a cup of coffee?"

She was shocked, gratified, and reaching for the full cup instantly.

He gave an elegant, determinedly not-smug-at-all shrug as he intently watched her drain half the cup.

"Ummm...perfect," she approved. He doubted she had any idea at all of how incredibly sexy she sounded.

A moment later she scrunched her face for a second then excused herself for a "human moment".

Godric meanwhile glanced into her half-full cup and pondered if he should dare. As was becoming the norm concerning Cara, he gave into his temptation.

When Cara came back, she wondered why he was standing near the table giving off such a self-satisfied air, but was more interested in finishing her coffee. For a vampire, Godric somehow made _really_ good coffee.

After she settled herself back on the sofa, Godric sat down next to her. He handed her the coffee cup and turned toward her, his face suddenly very serious.

"The guards reported no incidents _here_ this night," he stated with emphasis on the word "here".

Cara started to take another sip then halted the action. "Here?" She immediately sensed bad news coming.

He waited until her gaze met his. "Unfortunately, your home was not so fortunate."

Cara's jaw dropped and she immediately stilled in her panic. The fear in her eyes pained Godric to his core.

"Breathe, Cara, you're safe here. I will not let them touch you. I swear this to you."

Struggling to compose herself, she took a deep breath, then finished her coffee in one gulp. Godric set the cup on the table then took her hands in his. Looking deep into her eyes, he reluctantly decided to gently glamour her into staying in his home. He would take no chances with her safety.

"You will stay here the rest of this night, and tomorrow evening a group of us will go with you to your apartment so you can check the damage and gather what you will need to stay here until you are safe."

She blinked then lightly squeezed his hands. "I appreciate the offer, Godric, and I'll gladly stay here the rest of _this_ night, but..." she shrugged as her words dwindled. She didn't understand the look on his face. Shock?

Godric was shocked that his extremely powerful glamour did not work on her. "Cara, what do you mean _this_ night?" He quickly gathered his thoughts, then tried again but with full force this time. "I need you to stay here, safe, at least until this threat is over. There is no way you can go back to your apartment now that they know where you live." All she did was grimace. His glamour was completely ineffective on her. He had never encountered a human able to withstand his mind control, especially when used at full power. Even most vampires were at least somewhat susceptible.

Cara worried her bottom lip with her blunt teeth as she considered her options. It really made no sense at all to tempt fate by returning to her apartment if her security there was compromised. But...she really didn't want to risk getting even closer to Godric than she already was by staying there with him either. She decided more coffee was needed.

She squeezed his cool, strong hands again before letting them go. "I need more coffee...this night is getting awfully long," she said with a strained laugh.

He followed her into the kitchen. He felt an inexplicable urge to keep her within his line of sight if at all possible. "The vampire watching your house reported that a group of six Weres broke down your door and searched out your entire apartment. He said they destroyed many of your possessions before finally leaving." He hoped this unfortunate report would convince her that her safety was in definite danger.

"Is he alright," she asked worriedly.

"The vampire watching your home?" Godric was surprised at her concern for a vampire she did know even know, then realized that he really should have expected it. He chuckled in rueful amazement as he slowly, carefully took her in his arms and held her to his chest.

"He is fine, ma chere, he is fine. I had foolishly thought that you might have been upset that he could do nothing to protect your property against six Weres, and I apologize for that assumption." He instinctively started smoothing his hands in circles over her back to ease her stress.

She knew she should step away from him, or at least not lean so fully into his comforting hold, but...she just felt so damn good in his arms. She slowly circled her arms around his waist and, just for the moment, fully relaxed into his embrace as she buried her face into the safety of his shoulder.

"Say you will stay?" The soft, worried plea in his voice would easily have melted hearts much harder than her own.

She took a deep breath and reveled in his dark, male scent. Her arms automatically tightened around his narrow waist. Fuck.

She nodded, and was immediately assaulted by how very peaceful she was with her insane decision.

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**** I'm really sorry if this complicates things for my readers, but I've had to tweak with Ch. 1 a bit so it'd play better this chapter. I hope that makes sense... Reviews, please!****

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	24. Chapter 24

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 24~**

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**(Measures)**

Through the small, weak bond he had been able to secretly establish with Cara, Godric understood that her acceptance of his protection was no small accomplishment for either one of them. He was deeply grateful for the privilege, and vowed to keep her safe from all threats to the best of his considerable ability.

He subtly tightened his arms around her soft, warm body as he realized that the relatively simple act of holding her secure in his arms held a profound new meaning. When he had received word earlier of the attack on her apartment, fear had staked his heart with a force he had not thought possible. Although rationally he had known that she was safe in his home, still...even the mere possibility...

_Mine_. His gut twisted with the force and the truth of that imperative.

How dare anyone attempt to harm her! As soon as knowledge of her safety had appeased his other self, he had thankfully calmed down enough to allow logic to seep in. The need for planning replaced the need for reacting. She was safe. She would be kept safe. All those who would harm her would die in the most painful ways possible. It was that simple.

As if sensing his disquiet, Cara hesitantly started soothing her hands over the taut muscles of his back. He groaned his approval and allowed himself to rest his head atop hers as he focused his attention on her feelings and the soothing, circling warmth of her hands on his back. He fought to ignore the growing bulge in his pants. Her hands were unbelievably arousing even through the cloth of his shirt.

He was gratified to sense her feelings of comfort and safety, but did not understand the strange hesitance...apprehension?...lurking in the back of her consciousness. Soon enough he hoped to clear all paths between them.

He thought back over the evening's events. The ancient vampire was still reeling from her innate ability to deflect his glamour. In innumerable ways her immunity to glamour would help protect her from the unwelcome auspices of others of his species, but it was an ability best kept secret. He would have to think of a way to discuss this with her...preferably without having to admit his own attempts, of course.

"I am sorry your apartment was attacked, ma chere." He kissed the top of her head. "You are most welcome in my home for as long as you will stay. I have the perfect suite in mind for you. I want you to be comfortable here."

To his extreme regret, she slowly backed a step away from him. He loosened his hold, but did not let go.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Godric. I really do appreciate it." She made the mistake of looking into his eyes as she voiced her appreciation. She couldn't define the warm look he was giving her, but whatever it was, it felt way too...close? Right, maybe?

He smiled at her innate politeness, but wanted to strengthen the connection between them that was still not quite mended. He knew just the way...

"Just think of the time you will save commuting to work now," he teased.

She had to laugh out loud at that, which pleased him greatly. Humor, it seemed, was a main route to her heart.

"And you will avoid the rain I sense approaching...another advantage, I believe?"

She nodded with a grin, happy with their good-natured banter.

"And you are most welcome to explore my library any time you wish...also another benefit, I trust?" Naturally he had to cock that dark eyebrow playfully.

"True...true," she agreed. The look shining from his eyes into hers would have made her agree to anything, so she quickly averted her gaze.

Her face had softened at his look, but then she grimaced. "I don't have any clothes with me..."

He tipped her chin up and placed a very quick kiss on her lips. "Pardon me for one moment," he requested, and then, almost as suddenly as he was gone, he was back with his hands once again encircling her waist.

"I have placed some sleeping clothes on your bed. Also, considering the lateness of the hour and the distressing news from this night, I suggest you sleep yourself out on the morrow. I am most certain Sarah can handle their afternoon meal."

Cara started to speak, but Godric effectively stemmed her words simply by quietly resting his forehead against hers for a moment. "This is a time of much adjustment for you, Cara-mia," he stated quietly. "You should rest as you can. Let me care for you."

Enveloped by his scent and the strength of his body, she found it impossible to deny him the respite he wished to provide for her. "Yes, boss," she quietly smiled. The tone of his voice imparted such peace. She inhaled deeply.

He slowly trailed his nose down to her temple. Her scent was a temptation he could not resist.

Catching hold of her own reaction, Cara reluctantly moved her head from his. "I'm definitely going to have to go back sometime tomorrow to check out the damage and gather some clothes and stuff, though." Her face fell at the thought.

He immediately sensed her trepidation.

"Shhhh..." he soothed as he easily drew her back into his embrace. "Wait until after dark and we will go in force. You will not be alone."

She automatically tucked her head back into his shoulder and nodded, not quite comfortable with how very easily she was accepting his embrace and every plan he seemed to have, except...his plans made inordinate sense.

Too bad she always fell for logic, she snorted to herself. Never mind how right his arms felt holding her so close, or how natural her hands felt pressed to his chest... A few long blissful moments later, she roused herself enough to speak.

"I'm sorry to be so much of a bother..." she started as she looked up at him.

"_You_, ma petite, are no bother. And rest assured, I would tell you if you were," he interrupted strongly. "It only makes sense for you to reside here with me, and so you shall. No excuses, yes?" The twinkling in his warm blue eyes did not completely belie the surprisingly authoritarian expression on his face.

She huffed in a slight but insincere pout. He quirked his brow in response.

"Yes, dear," Cara quipped, peeping up at him through her lashes.

Godric quickly but gently popped her ass in retaliation. "Tease!"

He laughed at the startled look on her face, which turned several delicious shades of red as she laughed in surprise. "Hey, now! No bruising the private property back there!"

As she danced away from him, he saw her rubbing her barely tingling butt cheek with one hand. He zipped over to her to whisper in her ear, "I am more than happy to make amends, you know..." The weak bond told him she was far from unhappy with his teasing.

She snickered. "You're awful, Godric! Absolutely awful!"

He gave an elegant shrug. "I believe we have already established this, yes?"

She snorted. Then yawned. The yawn may or may not have been conveniently timed. Cara had felt remarkably refreshed after finally waking all the way up from her nap, but even so, it _was_ getting later.

Thrilled with the advances made this night, Godric would grant her this temporary reprieve...to an extent. His arms felt bereft without her warmth.

He simply scooped her up to his chest and flew her up the stairs to her new quarters. She was tired, after all...

Cara squealed and clutched at his shoulders, then swayed into him upon their quick landing.

"Oh my...Godric! You can fly?!" Her lovely face was a joy to behold! He wiggled his brows happily in answer to her exclamation as he gazed down into her face. The huge smile parting her lips, the light shining from her twinkling brown eyes, the flush still evident on her cheeks...he was mesmerized.

And needing a live feeding...soon.

Not trusting his already-strained self-control, he quickly opened the door to her suite and decorously invited her in with an elegant sweep of his arm. "You should find everything you need, but if not, please let me know. I only ask that you make yourself at home."

Cara gasped at the pure opulence of the rooms. "It's...it's beautiful, Godric. It's...absolutely gorgeous!" The rooms were a study in pinks, bright ivories, and golds. Heavy silk drapes framed the large windows; soft feminine furnishings meant for a lady's salon were neatly arranged in the sitting room with a soft, plush carpet extending through both the sitting room and the adjoining bedroom. She immediately kicked her shoes off and sighed as her feet sank down into the carpeting.

Everything in the room seemed to invite her touch; she couldn't keep her hands to herself. Every soft upholstered chair or sofa she passed had to be touch-tested, as did the small tables, and even the silk drapes as she walked into the bedroom. An elegant 4-poster bed graced the center of the room with a small pile of folded clothes atop the rose-and-gold comforter. She had to laugh in delight at the regal airiness of the room.

_Naturally_ a huge 4-poster bed would live in _here_... She felt a bit like Alice in a pink and gold wonderland! As in the sitting room the antique-looking furniture somehow managed to be both feminine and sturdy. Across the bedroom she spied an open door leading to the en suite bath.

Cara just had to trace the corner of the beautiful silk dressings on that lovely bed. What could have looked to be a young girl's fantasy bedroom somehow did not appear in the least bit adolescent. These were exactly the rooms she imagined a queen from long ago might have enjoyed.

Twirling around in delight, she looked back over her shoulder to see Godric standing in the doorway...and her breath caught in her throat.

Never had he looked less tame.

He stood utterly and completely still, face feral with lusts she could only imagine. Hot, hungry eyes tracked her every motion. His body rigid, fangs extended, nostrils flared reveling in her scent...he was a predatory beast in his prime.

He shifted and her pulse throbbed in response. Molten blue eyes pinned her gaze for an eternal moment.

It was the sexiest, scariest, most sensual thing she had ever seen or dreamed.

His throat convulsed once, twice.

"Sleep well," he growled, then left faster than her human eyes could see.

Cara took a long, calming breath, then closed her door with a shaking hand. She wasn't exactly sure what good that would do against a determined vampire...but, hey, anything would help, right? Knees weak, she all-but collapsed into a near-by chair to practice not fainting.

Suddenly, nature called. Loudly. She guessed what they said about "scaring the pee" out of someone was spot on. After finishing her business, washing her hands, and inspecting the contents of the gorgeous bathroom, she decided a shower was next on her agenda...somewhere between "breathing again" and "calming the fuck down". Talk about animal magnetism...

She wandered over to the beautiful bed and inspected the pile of clothing. According to the colors and fit, she figured they belonged to Godric. A quick sniff confirmed it. His delicious scent still lightly permeated the clothes even after a wash. She looked around the room and noticed that, mysteriously, there was no clock on the bedside table in the place where a clock had obviously once lived. She took that as a sign that maybe he really _did_ want her to sleep in.

The nice warm shower did help restore her equilibrium. After she gratefully changed into his clothes, she turned off all but the bathroom light, and slid thankfully into the softest sheets on the softest bed she had ever felt.

All-encompassing comfort kicked in about two seconds after she got situated; unfortunately, her mind did not shut off. She kept replaying the day in an endless loop.

First there was the teasing from Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast...then the feeling of his fangs and tongue on her neck..._unf_...then there was _that_ _kiss_ that still made her lips tingle..._double unf_...then Godric waking her up with the best cup of coffee she'd ever had...then finding out the Weres had attacked her apartment...then all those sweet, warm, comforting hugs she wished could have lasted forever...then...wow... Double wow... Double-fucking wow...!

She had never been more aroused in all her live-long days.

But...could she really risk becoming even _more_ involved with the ancient vampire? As best as she could figure, she was mostly mortal, but no matter how long she lived, she would still die well before he would...if he ever did.

And, even if that were a condition he would willingly accept, there were still no promises that a relationship between her and...anyone...would work. With all her issues? She strongly doubted even Godric's much-vaulted patience, understanding and wisdom would help all that much.

She sighed, stretched, and curled back up. Naturally this was the most comfortable bed ever made, she grumped to herself.

...in the most beautiful bedroom suite ever.

...in the nicest yet most comfortable mansion ever.

...owned by the most fascinating, attractive, intelligent, addictive male ever.

...the same one who stole the alarm clock so she would _have_ to sleep herself out the next morning... *hrumph*

Cara fell fast asleep with a smile on her face.

Godric flew straight from his estate to Alaric's home. His underling was known to keep several convenient donor-pets whose glad services were repeatedly and unconditionally offered to Godric.

He had to feed for Cara's safety. Damned if _he_ would be the one who hurt her, but in his current mood, he would not trust himself another moment.

He landed and pounded on the door. Alaric's servant quickly hid his shock at this unexpected visitor and instantly invited him in. He immediately notified his master.

Alaric took one look at the ancient vampire's strained countenance and without a word or delay led him to the donor's quarters. Although Godric did not know Alaric's donors, they were certainly aware of his reputation for wisdom, calmness, and abstaining. Needless to say, they were all quite shocked at his appearance.

He quickly selected two short brunettes and brusquely informed them that there would be no sexual relations; this visit was for feeding only. He realized that the thought of intimacy with anyone other than Cara disgusted him. Although disappointed, the two women quickly agreed and went to the sofa in the feeding room.

Half an hour later, Godric sat on the edge of the sofa with his head in his hands. He had been as gentle in his feeding as possible, but even so, both women had retired for the evening.

His dangerous blood thirst was slackened, but not gone. He deeply suspected only Cara could actually sate _any_ of his needs. A wry grimace played over his somewhat pinker lips. At least now he was somewhat less likely to lose _all_ control around his delightful temptress.

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****Thank you for your reviews! Y'all are the best!****

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	25. Chapter 25

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 25~**

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**(One Very, Very, Very Long Evening...Part A)**

Her first night under his roof, under his protection, and he could keep neither his eyes nor his hands off her. Such a small, profound thing, he thought, being able to openly memorize her sleep-softened face and smooth his fingers through her long dark hair.

He had been back for over an hour, and still he could not make himself move from the side of her bed. He was certain he would stop in just a few more minutes. Just like he was going to stop half an hour ago, he thought wryly.

What was it about her that made him act so irrationally? He who had been in complete control of himself for countless centuries was suddenly held spell bound to the side of the bed of a sleeping female while gently sifting her hair through his fingers. And he would not trade these moments for all the gold or precious jewels his hands could hold.

He stared down at his hands, certain that he was not worthy of touching even a strand of her hair. These hands had senselessly murdered thousands upon thousands...had inflicted all manner of cruelty upon both the deserving and, especially in his new-born times, the innocent. These hands had started and ended wars out of sheer boredom. Many centuries passed after his creation before he first recognized the whisperings of his conscience...and more centuries passed until he truly rethought his way of being.

These hands did not deserve to touch such beauty and character...such grace and joy and wit. But they did. And they would.

As much as it literally pained him, he would wait until she was more certain of him before touching her...thoroughly, but until then, he at least had her in his home, in his care. Cherished whether she knew it or not, she was home. And he would watch over her.

Now - to entice her to stay. Let the campaign begin...

Cara rolled over and stretched. She caught a whiff of something dark and delicious in the air and lazily opened one eyelid. For a moment it seemed like Godric had been there. It must have been her imagination. The scent had to have come from his clothes she was wearing.

Since the light-tight shutters were still down she had no idea of the time, so she rolled over, curled up, and went back to sleep.

Hours later nature decided it was time for her to wake up, so she answered its annoying call. Once vertical, she reluctantly decided to remain that way and get properly dressed for the day. Her jeans from the day before were still clean, but she decided to continue wearing Godric's shirt...since her own was dirty, of course.

In the process of making her bed, she happened to glance over to the nearest nightstand. There was a folded note where the alarm clock should have been. With a small smile on her face, she reached for and opened the paper.

**"My dearest Cara,**

**I hope you slept well and long. You need your rest, and as in all areas, I will see that your needs are met. If I must lower myself into absconding with your alarm clock to see this through, then so, I fear, it must be.**

**This is your home; do as you will. If you must leave the premises this day, take your guards with you.**

**Welcome home,**

**Godric"**

When she caught herself rereading his words for the fifth time, Cara simply smiled and tucked the letter into her purse. She could just imagine the grin on his face as he wrote about the alarm clock, just as she could imagine his calmly authoritarian look when he told her to take her guards. She tried to ignore the shivering warmth pooling between her legs at the thought of him meeting "all" her needs...

The next mission was definitely coffee. When she opened the bedroom door, she noticed that although the hallway was dark, a much brighter light was visible from the bottom of the stairs. According to the cooking odors in the air, lunch had already come and gone. Oh, great...how late _had_ she slept? Oh, well, at least maybe she missed Anderson.

When she poked her head into the kitchen, sure enough, Sarah was preparing the evening meal.

"Oh, Sarah, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to sleep so long!" Cara was horribly contrite as she tiptoed over to the coffee machine.

"Cara! Good morning, erm, afternoon! And don't you worry about a thing. Mr. Godric left a note explaining that you had a difficult night and would be sleeping in, and that since Elise wasn't having to guard you while you slept, she would help out." Sarah laughed at her apologetic countenance, then gave her a long, curious look. "Seriously, it's all ok, I promise. Just tell me how you ended up being here and we'll call it even," she wheedled for information.

Cara couldn't help but laugh at Sarah's blatant need for info. "Ok, ok, just lemme get the coffee IV hooked up."

"Do you want something for breakfast?"

"Ugh, no, but thanks anyway. I can't handle food for the first few hours I'm awake. I'll get something after while." She downed half her cup of coffee in one gulp. "This is all I need for now."

Meanwhile back in his control room not too far away, Godric was pleased that Cara had apparently slept herself out. Between the effects of his few drops of ancient blood and a good long rest, she looked absolutely radiant. Her face was clearer, her hair shinier, her movements even more fluid...now if she would just eat something he would feel better. He appreciated how well she filled out his shirt, and relished the sense of male satisfaction he felt knowing she was wearing his clothing.

Oh, that explains it, he thought as he listened in to their conversation. He would keep an eye on her to make sure she did eat later, though.

Keeping one ear on the conversation, Godric quickly completed a few pending area tasks, then tended to his own personal business interests. Thankfully his trusted attorney, the renowned semi-demon Desmond Cataliades, had over the years introduced him to exceptionally qualified account managers, so his considerable financial holdings ran quite smoothly without his active participation.

"...here last night?" Godric refocused his attention; he wanted to hear what Cara had to say.

"Well, you know the vampires had a big meeting they had to go to last night, right, and that I stayed until they got back?" Sarah nodded. "Well, apparently at some point during the evening Destructo-Weres ransacked my apartment." Sarah gasped. "Godric said they broke down the door and went through all the rooms, and from what I understand they broke stuff just for the practice or something. Anyway, there was no way I could go back home after all that, so I stayed here."

"Oh no! That's terrible! Thank God you weren't there when it happened!"

"Oh, I'm thanking both God _and_ Godric for that one. I give credit where credit's due: if he hadn't asked me to stay here last night, I'd be dead, or worse, now." Cara shivered.

"What are you going to do? You can't go back there, not now." Sarah was adamant. Godric approved.

"Nope, but I do need to go by and see what the damage is, and what I can salvage. Godric offered to let me stay here until he gets things resolved, but..." Her voice dwindled off uncertainly.

"But what?" Sarah didn't see any problems with the perfect solution. She'd seen exactly how Mr. Godric looked at Cara...and she'd seen how Cara looked at him when she thought no one was watching. The kiss between them yesterday could have melted the paint off the walls. There was definitely chemistry between the two of them, and it seemed that Cara was the only hold-up. Maybe she just didn't understand how very quickly things like this progressed in the supe world? Perhaps it was time to explain a few realities to her new friend. Things just worked...differently...in the supe world.

Cara paused as she considered how to respond. Stalling, she made herself another cup of coffee. Godric impatiently clutched the arm rests of his chair so hard the metal warped.

"Quit stalling, Cara. Spill it," Sarah cajoled.

He was definitely giving that Were a raise.

Cara laughed. "Hey, I'm a stalling pro...gimme a minute over here!" Godric had to smile; he loved her humorous honesty.

Sarah snorted as she went over to the oven to check on the (garlic-less) lasagnas. "Ok, then, I'll start. Mr. Godric likes you. You like him. He has a big, gorgeous home, and he apparently wants you to stay with him at least while there's danger. You need a safe, comfortable place to stay. Am I right so far?"

Cara smiled, and nodded to her coffee cup.

Sarah continued. "So, what's the problem? Do you not want to get involved with him? Is it because he's a vampire?"

Cara jerked her head up. "No! No, that's not it at all!"

"Then what the hell is the problem?" Sarah could be rather blunt when needed.

Cara huffed. Then thought for a long minute. Then sighed.

"I'm...I'm not really sure, honestly," she finally replied quietly.

Through the slight bond, Godric felt her sincerity. She truly had no problem with him being a vampire, but there definitely was some sort of problem. He stared at her vision in the monitor as if he could pull the source of her hesitation from her mind.

Cara rubbed the back of her neck and tried to relax the sudden tension she felt there. Finally she grimaced and fessed up.

"I'm scared, that's all."

"Of what?"

"Well, for one thing, he's my _boss_."

Godric rested his head on his tented hands as he stared at the screen and sensed an immediate firing coming on.

"That won't last forever. Next?" Sarah really did want to get to the bottom of this. They were too perfect a couple to _not_ succeed.

"And what if I...we...what if we _did_ get together, and it didn't work out?"

"You haven't been in many relationships, have you," Sarah asked kindly.

"Nope, not really. Not lately at any rate."

"Why?"

"Mostly because I'm too damn picky," Cara laughed. "Seriously, why ever bother settling for Mr. He'll Do? I mean, I had a couple of semi-serious relationships when I was way younger, but in retrospect, I think those fiascos were more about sex and figuring out what I _didn't_ want than anything else. After a while, I wised up and figured out that crappy, mediocre sex just wasn't worth the bother, so I kind of gave up on getting involved with anyone."

"Got burned, huh," Sarah wisely guessed.

Godric's face hardened. The thought of anyone hurting his Cara, even a former love interest - especially a former love interest, infuriated him.

"Oh, yeah. There was nothing angst-ridden or unusually traumatic, so don't worry about that. It was more of a slow realization that I really wasn't meant to be with anyone, at all, ever. I have way too many issues," she shrugged nonchalantly.

What issues? Godric heard the lightness of her voice, but felt the heaviness in her heart. Maybe that was the source of those brief flashes of pain he would see reflected in the window?

"What issues," Sarah enquired. "And what would they have to do with Mr. Godric?"

"Well, for one thing, I have a _distinct_ problem with authority. You can _ask_ me to do pretty much anything in the world, and if I can, I probably will. But _command_ me to do something, no matter how simple, and I'll quite happily tell you to stick it up your ass. Let's just say that I have a bit of a temper." Cara politely sipped her coffee.

Godric was fascinated. Inexplicably, the knowledge that Cara was fated to be his was growing stronger by the second. Apparently she was quite the spitfire.

"Is this quick temper of yours an "anger management" thing?" Sarah wanted to know.

"Could be, but I don't think so. I'm also usually right, about other people and situations at any rate, so I'm a bit cocky by nature," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I think I was just an intuitively perma-right queen of the universe in a past life," Cara winked at her friend and laughed.

Sarah laughed with her. Godric leaned back and his mind raced.

"So, when you're used to being always right, and you combine it with a severe laziness habit like I have," Cara had to laugh at herself, "of course you're going to get pissed off if someone starts trying to order you around." She snickered.

"But, honestly, the problem I have with authority comes from my automatic over-reaction of 'who the hell are you to try to tell me to do a damn thing'. I have an extremely firm belief that we are all equal, no exceptions until or unless proven otherwise. So, until or unless proven otherwise, there is no one on this planet who is worth more, or less, than me."

"Ah." Sarah was starting to get a better picture.

So, incidentally, was Godric.

Sarah continued. "So, since Mr. Godric actually _is_ an acknowledged authority figure, you don't really want to get involved with him at all. Am I reading this right?"

Godric broke the chair arms before sensing Cara's feelings.

"Kind of...," she hedged. "Funny thing...the thing about Godric is," she paused in thought.

Godric thought he was going to explode. But...while he still sensed that hesitation, he also felt warmth and sweetness from her.

"Ok, the thing with Godric is that he's so smart, and so calm and gentle and wise and controlled (here the ancient vampire snorted) that what _he_ says makes sense. I can't fight logic, you know? Logic makes sense; it follows a pattern that I can follow. So, if _Godric_ were to ask me to do something, even if it didn't make sense at the time, I'd be much more likely to do it and ask questions later. And I would. Ask questions later, that is," she laughingly clarified. "But, yes, if even Godric tried to _command_ me to do something, I'd be out the door in a heartbeat. I have no tolerance for domineering behavior...unless it's mine."

Godric tossed the now-useless chair arms across the room and breathed an unnecessary sigh of relief. His Cara would indeed lead him on a merry chase, he was sure of it. _This_ kind of 'problem with authority' he could handle. With their combined intelligence he would be able to work around her tendencies. He strongly doubted such a need would ever even arise.

He could easily keep her apart from the worst forms of vampire protocol; never would he willingly expose her to the _most_ archaic dehumanizing, humiliating traditions stubbornly adhered to by some of his species.

"But," his heart sank as he heard her continue, "the fact remains that he _is_ a powerful _authority_ _figure_ in the vampire political world in particular, and apparently in the supe world in general. I can't ignore that fact. Since it's a political power thing, he can't be associated with an 'uncontrolled' woman with a really bad attitude, and that's exactly how I'd come off to people, especially judgmental old vampires, who don't know me." Cara shook her head sadly. "As far as vampire power is concerned, from what I understand he has to be seen as "in control of his woman", and that's where I balk. Badly."

Sarah nodded, realizing that her friend did indeed understand something extremely important to their supe world.

"Cara, I see where you're coming from, but you're forgetting one major thing."

"What?"

"Mr. Godric."

Cara just laughed, and inclined her head in agreement.

Sarah continued, "How about this: how about you let Mr. Godric worry about it, and let him deal with whether or not all that might cause problems, ok? I'd guess he's been around that world a few times already and knows exactly how to deal more than you and I ever will."

Godric decided the Were needed a double raise.

"If I agree, can we shelve my trust and control issues for a later discussion?" Cara wasn't completely kidding.

She burst out laughing at the look Sarah gave her.

"Hey, I'm highly self-aware. I know that all my problems stem from trust issues, and I'm ok with that. They're mine and they know my name!" She giggled.

Bemused, Godric shook his head. This human was a fascinating study of contradictions. He would gladly spend lifetimes trying to figure her out.

Before Sarah could say another word, Cara rose to start preparing the salad and non-garlic garlic bread to go with dinner. A glance at the window showed night wasn't ready to start falling yet.

Godric smiled as he felt her slight disappointment. His smile did not last long.

A few minutes later, Sarah gave Cara a "look". Cara rolled her eyes and faced the counter to concentrate on her salad preparations.

Yesterday Anderson somehow managed to "miss lunch" and had shown up conveniently right after everyone else had left the table. His increasingly insulting, arrogant presence annoyed them both for the better part of an hour until Mark came to do a general check on the house. They both hoped he wouldn't stay as long today. Cara decided that if he did, she was definitely going to say something to Godric that night. She hated feeling like a tattle-tale, but there was something seriously creepy about Anderson.

Moments later, that mangy pup Anderson came strutting in. Godric rose and started pacing. Fuck...he was still trapped by fucking daylight!

Sarah tried to run interference. "Hey, Anderson. What do you want today?"

"Can't I get something to drink if I want it," he challenged, his attitude belligerent and insulting. "So, Cara," he started, his voice dripping with smarm, "you're the new maid around here - are _you_ going to get me something to drink? "

Cara didn't bother turning around. "You know where the glasses and sink faucet are; have at it."

"What the fuck is up with you today, huh? You too good to even look at me?" He sidled up a little closer.

Godric's fangs dropped. The second he was free of the light, that fucker was hurting...bad.

She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Some of us actually do the jobs we're hired for over here. And for the record, I'm the house cook, not your maid, Anderson. Godric is my boss; not you."

"Ohhh, pretty little kitty has claws, eh? What makes you think you're so special that you don't even have to look at me, huh?" Although she refused to look at him, she could just imagine him puffing his big chest out.

By this time Godric was snarling. Through the slight bond he sensed that she felt no fear, only aggravation, disdain and a strong determination, but still. That was his woman... Fucking daylight!

Hoping for peace but preparing for battle, Cara "ignored" Anderson, keeping her front facing the counter and her body relaxed. Somehow, she knew peace was losing. His attitude was much worse today. Yesterday he'd stuck with badly clichéd innuendos dripping with smarm...today was escalating quickly...much too quickly. Weird! She quickly reviewed her options.

Anderson took another step toward Cara. "I've had it with you, you damn fangbanging whore. You'll lay down with fucking vampires but won't even look at a real man? Somebody needs to teach you to respect your betters and I guess it's my job to do it."

He raised his arm up to strike Cara and in a blur Sarah rammed her full weight into his side. They both fell to the floor. The large male Were slammed Sarah into the lower kitchen cabinets and came up cursing at Cara.

Godric was livid, but a strong, strange peace in the bond saved his sanity. Somehow he knew - Cara had this.

Then Anderson grabbed her shoulder.

.

.

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****I'm sorry for the cliffie! I had two choices: post the world's longest chapter (srsly...) or break it into halves. So...to save you from complete and utter boredom &/or eye exhaustion, I had to find **_**some**_** place to stop this chapter and this really was the best place. I promise! (Please don't kill me...I have cats...and a perma-puppy!)**

**So, for future reference (no promises), which would you prefer: a super-mega-long chapter (and the accompanying eye strain), or a 2- or 3-parter with possible cliffie?****

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	26. Chapter 26

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

.

**~Anticipating, Chapter 26~**

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**(Hands, aka: One Very, Very, Very Long Evening...Part B)**

In one quick move, Cara turned from the counter and pressed a long sharp knife against Anderson's throat. He immediately stilled and his eyes bulged as a thin line of blood seeped from his skin. His hand still clawed into her shoulder.

"I would suggest you remove your hand before I remove your insolent head, jackass. Understand?" He gulped carefully.

Cara pressed the knife a bit further into his flesh and repeated, "_Understand_?"

Unholy glee lit Godric's face.

"Yes...ma'am," the stunned Were whimpered as he slowly removed his hand. The motions encouraged more blood to seep from the shallow cut to his neck.

"Sarah, you ok?"

The female Were huffed, then replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Peaches and sunshine, honey. Can you call the guards and have them notify DesChamps en route? It seems we have a potential situation."

Sarah grabbed her phone and immediately dialed the Mark's number, then asked, "_Potential_?"

Cara laughed, and it was not a pretty sound. "His head may potentially land on the floor, and what a fucking mess that'll make."

Godric was ecstatic with relief. What an amazing mate she would be! He was still in full temper, but seeing his Cara so ably defend herself from the insolent pup was...arousing, to say the least.

Sarah laughed appreciatively then started talking when Mark answered. After a quick word with him, she hung up so he could then call his packmaster as he and Elise hurried to the house. Cara maintained both the stare-down and the knife's position. Anderson barely dared to breathe as blood slowly ran down his neck. Godric paced and seriously considered installing light-tight shutters in the main living areas of the house.

After Sarah hung up, Cara asked her to locate either zip ties or duct tape, or both. After some duct tape finally appeared, she had Sarah bind his ankles, knees, wrists, and mouth very, very securely. Afterward, Cara calmly knocked him out by smashing a ceramic platter over his head. She said he would be easier to care for that way. They left him where he landed.

Mark and Elise arrived less than two minutes later to take over a different sort of guard duty. The guards decided the unconscious Anderson would be less bothersome in the laundry room off the kitchen, so they moved him there. His landing was none-too-gentle. They each made themselves something to drink then took up their unexpected posts.

Cara washed her hands and popped some ibuprofen...her shoulder was throbbing. She then bleached the bloody knife, and resumed preparing the salad. Sarah washed her hands and popped some painkillers, too. She had landed hard against the woodwork. Then she put the bread on to broil and proceeded to watch it carefully. Non-garlic garlic bread can burn in an instant regardless of unconscious insane Weres.

Godric tested the bond and was surprised to find Cara in a predominantly peaceful, happy mood. Her anger was still evident, but she appeared to be well. He would find out more later. He then heated and downed two bottles of the fetid blood substitute. It was going to be a long evening.

After the salad and bread were prepared, the ladies gratefully sat down for a break. Sarah quietly piped up. "Cara, you do know that if you were to allow Mr. Godric to claim you publically, things like this wouldn't happen, right? With _his_ reputation, no one would dare even look at you wrong, much less harass you. And from what I've seen, I definitely think he's got claiming you on the mind."

Godric swiveled his head around to stare at the screen. This...could get good.

"Claim?" Cara was confused. "What does that mean?"

Sarah laughed, a low, feminine sound showing her understanding of such things. "As a Were, there are a lot of vampire things I don't know, but I do know this. To supes in general, and especially vampires, claiming means much more than the human boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. A claiming isn't as strong as a pledging, or a strong bonding, but it carries a lot of weight in the supe world. Simply put, it means that only he would have the right to your blood and sex, and that he would have the right and obligation to protect and care for you."

Cara blushed scarlet and stared intently at her coffee cup. "Ok, I get the sex part, and maybe the blood part too, but...clarify the rest please?"

The female Were explained, "Ok, if a vampire were to come in here tonight and take a liking to you, he could claim you and technically there's nothing any of the other vampires here could do about it. No one in their right mind would try, of course, since Mr. Godric is one of the oldest and strongest vampires in the world, but still, technically they could. If Mr. Godric claims you, and you then carry his scent, you would be safe from any other vampire or supe in the world having _anything_ untoward to do with you since you would be considered 'his'. Bothering you would carry penalties up to final death."

Godric knew it was not _exactly_ that simple, although as a brief explanation, it would do. But, somehow, he just knew...oh, yeah...the bond. In 3...2...

"_His_? What do you mean I'd be considered _'his'_?" Cara was fairly certain she didn't like that part.

Godric smirked, relieved he was not on the receiving end of that temper. Yet.

Sarah just laughed. "Yup. If a vampire claims you, to the supe world you really are considered 'theirs'. I don't think it's quite like being considered personal property or whatever, but yeah, it's pretty old-fashioned. But then, most supe customs are old-fashioned."

"Gaaagh! Sounds like it." Cara tried her best to stifle the little voice in her heart whispering that maybe it would be kind of nice to be considered _'his'_...so long as the 'he' in question was Godric...

Unbeknownst to her, the bond was telling Godric exactly the same thing.

Sarah allowed her to ponder this new information as they puttered around the kitchen.

About ten minutes later, the sun finally set, and Godric appeared. DesChamps rang the doorbell a moment afterward. Elise came from the laundry room to let him in.

Godric did an excellent job of feigning surprise at the stench of Were blood hanging in the air. His partially retracted fangs fell.

His eyes flew to Cara, "Why do I smell Were blood? What has happened, ma petite?"

Even as he growled his words, he obeyed his instinct and gathered Cara in his arms to inspect for damages. Logically he knew she was fine - had seen so with his own eyes - but instinct has little to do with logic in times such as these.

He sniffed - Were stench befouled his lovely Cara, and it was all he could do to not carry her off to his quarters, strip her down, and rub his own scent all over her body. The urge to mark was strong, but the time was not yet come to claim her as he intended.

Cara tried not to let his roaming hands distract her, but it wasn't easy. He seemed to concentrate his touch on her shoulder where Anderson had grabbed her. She didn't mind a bit...the memory of Anderson's touch was disgusting. She raised her hands to his chest in an effort to calm him.

"Oh, everything's ok now. Anderson was an ass, so I kind of cut him. He's in the laundry room. You're out of duct tape, by the way," Cara calmly added.

Godric laughed. He couldn't help it. His fangs were out, snarls were still threatening to erupt, and yet...he laughed. She had such a way about her. He tilted his forehead to meet hers.

"My love, you must tell me what you have done with the duct tape and why you cut that insolent Were. Please use lots of words...I wish to hear them all."

Everyone laughed, albeit a bit nervously. They were fully aware of just how much damage an enraged vampire could do...especially Godric.

Cara laughed, then snuggled closer. She couldn't help it; Anderson had truly freaked her out and the controlled stability of Godric felt so damn good. He seemed to instinctively know this because he immediately hugged her tighter and tucked her head into his shoulder.

She took a deep breath of his scent, then explained, "Anderson is in the laundry room benefiting from the duct tape. Earlier this afternoon he came in the kitchen all cocky and insulting, then _he_ got mad at _me_ because _I_ wouldn't flirt with _him_. He was really weird - he kept getting worse and worse! He raised his hand to hit me and..." Her explanation was interrupted by a chorus of growls from Godric, DesChamps, Elise, and Mark, who made his opinion known from the laundry room.

Godric held her so tight she almost couldn't breathe. She started rubbing her hands over his back to try to soothe some of his fury. It surprised her just how furious he was over such a small thing; she wasn't used to people being angry on her behalf. Godric silently noted her surprise.

She cleared her throat. "I, um, I had a feeling he was going to try something, so I had the knife I was using ready just in case, and sure enough, he let his stupid shine through. He came at me, and Sarah tackled him." Cara looked over at DesChamps. "Sarah really stepped up, DesChamps. She'd make an awesome body guard!" Sarah flushed with pleasure.

"Then, after he slung her off, he came back up and grabbed me so I held the knife up to his throat and made him stop. I kind of let him bleed a little in the process." she finished hurriedly.

"That son of a bitch!" DesChamps was pissed.

Cara was surprised. She leaned away as far as the ancient vampire would allow and spoke to the packmaster. "You're not mad at me? I did kind of cut him some..."

The glare Godric gave DesChamps told DesChamps that he'd best not be displeased with his woman.

"No, Cara, not at all. It's Anderson who's going to pay. He had no right to lay a finger on you."

Sarah spoke up. "No, sir, he sure didn't. Cara had him backed down before I even had a chance to get back up - she's that quick! But he certainly deserved it. He was acting awfully weird."

Cara giggled. Godric raised a brow at her not-very-contrite face as she gazed into his still-fiery blue eyes. "I kind of broke a platter over his head. It might have been overkill, but I didn't want to risk him shifting. Well, and it was fun, too." She shrugged her shoulders, then winced as the motion brought back the ache in full force.

Godric instantly noticed. He had seen the Were grab her shoulder, but did not realize he had hurt her. "You hurt!"

She grimaced, then said, "A little. When he grabbed my shoulder, he dug his fingers and nails in. I took some Advil; it'll be ok if I'd just quit moving it."

Godric was torn between demanding to see the wound and killing that damn Were.

Cara raised her other hand to cup his cheek. "I'm ok. Really."

He stilled for a moment, then focused intently on her shoulder. "Anderson drew first blood," he growled. Sure enough, a small drop of blood had seeped through her top and left a tiny stain.

He met DesChamps eyes and both males nodded.

They all heard Anderson suddenly start banging around the laundry room like a large booted worm. Godric's not-fully-retracted fangs snicked back out and with a snarl he was gone. All the supes in the kitchen looked to see the reaction of the only human in the room. The human just lightly shrugged and started making a pitcher of iced tea. She figured the Were deserved some quality time with the ancient vampire.

The sounds soon coming from the laundry room indicated a need for new appliances.

When Godric arrived in the laundry room, he nodded dismissal to Mark, who had been guarding Anderson. Mark closed the door to the room, and sat at the kitchen table. Judging by the look on the vampire's face, he wouldn't be through any time soon.

For a long moment, Godric simply locked eyes with the deranged Were. His first instinct was to break every bone in the mutt's body, then end him. But...Cara said the Were was acting "weird", and he had to agree. From his own observations the situation had escalated too quickly. Interesting.

He would follow his first instinct, but he would allow the insolent beast to live for now. He would explore the likely causes of such behavior...while his bones healed. The bastard had been insolent toward Cara since the first moment he met her. Such disrespect toward his future mate would not be tolerated. He bent to remove the duct tape.

Fifteen minutes later, a rather satisfied Godric emerged from the former laundry room. He had left the bastard alive, barely, but had very much enjoyed breaking every large bone in his body. He also seriously doubted the dog's ability to further his species. And he knew at least one cause of the Were's belligerent behavior. He would need to speak with DesChamps soon.

Suddenly, though, he was anxious about Cara's reaction to that side of his nature. Self-defense she could understand; retribution, he feared, would be foreign to her. There was no way her innate kindness would allow her to understand, much less appreciate, the instincts that defined his most basic behaviors. He kept his eyes lowered as he approached her; he dreaded to see the look on her face but needed to start on damage control immediately.

A warmed bottle of disgusting blood substitute appeared in his line of sight. Startled, he glanced up, and melted into Cara's warm, sweet gaze.

Cara of course knew the instant Godric exited the former laundry room. From all the noise she'd heard, she wondered if Anderson still lived, but found she didn't much care. When she looked over at Godric, she figured he'd be Mr. Happy Macho Vampire Dude; she didn't expect him to appear...anxious? Worried? Then she realized that all the other supes in the kitchen were surreptitiously watching her...like they were gauging her reaction? Huh? Weird.

She couldn't figure out what he was so down about, but, according to all the noise she'd heard, he'd spent a bit of energy, so she heated him up a blood. Maybe he was just tired.

His eyes were so full of relief when they met hers; so full of relief and awe and warmth and something she refused to classify. He accepted the bottle then placed it on the counter, and pulled her into his arms. One moment she was standing on her own, the next she was pressed into the counter by a very happy, very horny vampire determined to slowly count every one of her teeth. Thrice.

His hands skimmed over her ass then one hand cradled the back of her neck while he deepened the kiss. His other hand held her tightly to him as his tongue plunged slowly, over and over.

She groaned quietly as she slid one hand into his hair and moved the other one to lightly trace his ear. His growled his pleasure and ground his arousal into the receptive warmth of her body.

Sensing things were about to get out of hand, DesChamps loudly cleared his throat and asked Sarah for something to drink.

Totally ignoring the appreciative snickers from the Were contingent, Godric eased back from the kiss to gaze into Cara's flushed face. His burning blue eyes dilated a bit when she licked her kiss-swollen lips but when she would have lowered her head shyly, he tipped her chin up and stroked her cheek.

"Ah, Cara-mia, you astound me to no end." His countenance radiated sheer joyous relief. Bemused, she smiled sweetly at him and blushed.

DesChamps morosely inhaled the delicious aroma of the lasagna, then loudly stated that he might as well tend to the trash.

Cara cleared her throat and suggested leaving the trash in the wrecked laundry room till after dinner. Everyone, especially DesChamps, readily agreed.

Noticing Godric's intent focus on Cara, Sarah offered to serve dinner herself and suggested the other woman take a break. Godric agreed on Cara's behalf, and immediately scooped her up in his arms without giving her time to protest. He smugly sat on a sofa in the den with her safely ensconced on his lap. He needed the extended contact after the upheavals of the afternoon.

At her surprised squeal and subsequent glare, Godric stated quite firmly, "What? As if you would have voluntarily taken the break you needed?"

She snorted. "Looks like we'll never know, now will we." Then she giggled and relaxed back into his hard chest and strong arms. She needed the peaceful shelter she found only in Godric's arms more than she cared to admit.

A few minutes later Isabel and Scott, then Ryan and Alaric, arrived along with the rest of the Weres coming for dinner. Everyone immediately noticed the atmosphere in the common rooms, the slight but lingering stench of spilled Were blood, and the ancient vampire sitting on the sofa with his human in his lap. The last part surprised them least.

Easily countering Cara's sudden half-hearted, semi-embarrassed efforts to rise from his lap, Godric briefly covered the events of the afternoon to the newcomers. Isabel was livid, and Scott, Ryan and Alaric weren't far behind. The Weres were angry and looked to their packmaster for instruction. Cara blushed. Her squirming had produced unanticipated results in Godric's lap.

Sensing her friend's discomfort but unaware of the exact cause, Sarah made her a cup of coffee and brought it over to her. Cara was very much appreciative. She took a good sip, and sighed. She then slowly, and with somewhat more movement than necessary, leaned forward farther than required to put the cup down on the low table in front of the sofa.

In silent retribution, Godric repositioned her to sit sideways on his lap. He then proceeded to lightly ghost his fingers up and down Cara's arm and thigh while speaking to his vampires about the Were problem, Cara's need to visit her apartment, and then generic Council business.

It wasn't very long until Cara truly relaxed into Godric's light embrace. The rumble of his chest under her ear was surprisingly comforting...his light stroking of her arm and thigh so soothing...soon she was lightly dozing up against him as the afternoon's stress slowly receded. He could not have been more pleased with her response, especially as it enabled her to miss DesChamps eventually dragging the bleeding, battered Were out the back door.

About an hour later, and all too soon in his opinion, Godric had to get up. He needed to go to his study and finish that night's business so they could get on with the night's other plans. He stroked a finger over the curve of her cheek to wake her up, and smiled softly when she pressed her face further into his chest. He nosed her hair and inhaled her scent deeply before speaking.

"Come, Cara, wake up, love."

"Hrumph." She chuckled quietly. "But I don't wanna," she teasingly protested. She rubbed her nose against his chest, inhaling his scent for a long moment, then slid off his lap to stretch.

He rose with her, then, suddenly more serious, he hooked a finger under her chin to tilt her face up.

"_Are_ you ok, my dear," he asked quietly.

Cara smiled slightly, and nodded as she flushed under his scrutiny. "Yeah," she all-but whispered, "I'm ok. A little frazzled, but it's over. I'll probably have more nightmares tonight, though." She shivered, but smiled to negate any worry. Godric didn't buy it for a moment. "I still need to go to my apartment and see what the Destructo-Weres did. I'm not looking forward to that," she said pensively.

"We will go as soon as we finish some business. Maybe in an hour or so?" She nodded. He placed a slow, sweet kiss to her forehead, enjoined her to eat something, then went to his study.

Cara briefly wondered how he knew she hadn't eaten, but forgot about it as she inhaled some lasagna. She was worried about her things...she really hoped most of her stuff was ok.

She and Sarah quickly cleaned most of the kitchen, and she eventually convinced Sarah to go home. While she enjoyed the female Were's company, she knew she was tired from the events of the day, plus...she liked spending quality time with her iPod, too. Their relationship had been suffering lately.

The "house vamps", as she'd mentally started calling them, had one-by-one slowly finished their discussions with Godric and had naturally started gathering in the den. When Isabel finally left Godric to his own devices in his study, she entered the den to find three sets of amused vampire eyes trained on a slightly-dancing, slightly-off-key-singing Cara in the kitchen.

She had to laugh. There was just something about her human friend that attracted attention whether she wanted it or not. A few moments later Godric emerged from his study and immediately noted the other male vampires' interest in his Cara. His low growl refocused their attentions elsewhere.

Isabel snickered as she wandered into the kitchen to heat a blood and chat with her friend. She hadn't been able to spend nearly enough time with the human she owed so much.

Cara turned and saw Isabel, so she shut her music off and patted the table in invitation to sit and chat. She wiped her hands, made a cup of coffee, and joined the female vampire. She also pretended not to notice Godric's eyes tracking her every move.

"We've been so busy I haven't had a chance to speak with you lately. How have you been?" Isabel got the conversational ball rolling. She was concerned with all the recent events affecting her friend, and...she really wanted to know how things were progressing between the human and her Maker, but didn't want to be obvious. From what she herself had seen, things were progressing rather slower than she had first thought.

Isabel also knew well that at least one set of vampire ears was listening in on her conversation.

Cara laughed. "Well, except for having my apartment ransacked and being manhandled by an ass, fine!" Isabel snickered with her friend.

"I'm so glad you were here last evening instead of at your place. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Oh, definitely! That has got to be the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. I really appreciate Godric letting me stay here. I dread to see what my apartment looks like now. I'm just thankful there aren't little bits of me scattered around in it!"

Not everyone appreciated Cara's dark humor.

Across the den, Godric blatantly eavesdropped on the conversation between his child and the woman who was fast becoming the center of his universe. He was pleased to see them reconnecting, and gladly delayed their departure to give them more time to chat.

Alaric, Scott, and Ryan were obviously curious about her, but as they knew of his silent claim, they would never encroach on his territory. He rolled his eyes. Their eavesdropping was less than subtle.

His phone beeped a text, signaling the completion of Gervaise's Council errand. Odd how no one missed his company that evening. He took a moment to ponder Gervaise's less than stellar attitude of late, then shrugged. Gervaise was indeed useful, but also completely expendable. The churlish vampire had barely been in the same room as Cara since the incident. Godric preferred it to stay that way.

A little while later, Isabel reluctantly noticed the lateness of the hour and suggested to Cara that they should head on over to her apartment. After taking a human moment and dashing upstairs to grab her purse, Cara went to the den and was surprised at the number of people there.

Godric was serious when he said that they would go in force. Godric, Isabel, Alaric, Mark, Elise, Chad, and the Were whose name she never remembered were discussing strategy when she walked up. The ancient vampire was in full authority mode, determined to have a plan in place just in case of problems.

If it were up to him, he would simply have his vampires pack up everything salvageable from the apartment and move the boxes into his home where Cara could sort through them in safety, but...nothing with Cara would ever be that simple. He knew she had to go to the apartment for two excellent reasons: she needed to see the kind of damage their enemies could wreck, and she needed to see that her home was no longer inhabitable.

Regardless of how well she defended herself from Anderson's unwanted advances and two of the four Weres attacking his child, he had a strong suspicion that she did not take her safety quite seriously enough. She would not always have the advantage of surprise on her side, and her commendable bravery could easily get her killed...or worse.

He also needed her to come to terms with living in his home permanently. He was ever more convinced that she was meant for him. He could not explain it, but the need to have her close, to provide for her care and safety, grew nightly. The sooner she came to accept living in his home, making it 'their' home, the better.

Cara walked over to stand beside Isabel, and when she glanced over, Cara held up her keys and snorted. "I don't know what good these are going to do me with no door to unlock." Isabel patted her arm in sympathy.

"I don't believe your keys will help much. After the Were pack left, Darwin, the vampire watching your apartment last night, arranged your door as best he could. I understand DesChamps instructed two of his Weres to replace the door today."

She nodded, and Godric came over and put his arm around her shoulder. "Ready?"

She leaned into him briefly, exhaled forcefully, then "Yeah, as I'll ever be I guess."

A short while later the two large black SUV's pulled up in front of Cara's apartment. Godric _asked_ Cara, who rode with him, Isabel and Alaric, to wait in the vehicle until the area was secured. She decided to listen to the excellent suggestion and waited nervously with Isabel.

A moment later, DesChamps pulled up and parked behind their vehicle. He had another Were with him, and they were both carrying boxes. He tapped the SUV's window, and Cara cracked the door to speak with him. "Godric took the keys so I couldn't roll down the window. What's up?"

"We brought some boxes so you could pack some stuff up while you're here if you want. It's pretty bad inside, though, so be warned."

"I was afraid of that. Thanks for the boxes - I appreciate it! Is the coast clear yet? I'd love to just get this done and over with."

DesChamps surveyed the area, then motioned for his Were to go in and ask. A moment later, they got the all clear, so the two females exited the SUV. Then, much to Cara's surprise, DesChamps picked her up and rushed her inside. Chad and the Were who came with DesChamps took up their posts outside.

Cara's jaw dropped. She took a long, slow look around, truly horrified by the senseless destruction. Everything in the living room was damaged. Computer...tv...plants...even the curtains were demolished. Amazingly, though, her books and notebooks seemed ok. They were slung around all over the place, but didn't look ruined. She grabbed a box and started picking them up when Elise offered to take over. She thanked her, and ventured into the kitchen.

Pots, pans, dishes, utensils, coffee machine parts, cans of food...the small kitchen was a total mess. She had no idea a bag of flour could travel so far.

Godric came up behind her and pulled her to his chest as she surveyed the devastation. He kissed her neck as he wrapped his arms securely around her. Gratefully she leaned back into his embrace for a long moment. Once she found her fortitude, she patted his hand, grabbed a box, and started gathering recognizable objects. At least the Destruco-Weres didn't take the time to dent the pots or bend the silverware. The Were she didn't know silently offered to take over. Knowing that they were wanting to get through as quickly as possible, she smiled gratefully and left him to it.

Her bedroom was just as bad. Here, she didn't even pause, but went back to the kitchen, grabbed a garbage bag, and started gathering her strewn clothing up as fast as she could. Most of it wasn't ruined, just scattered all over the place.

A few moments later, Godric entered her now-former bedroom to check on her progress. She just had to ask, "Did you leave the washer and dryer in one piece? Looks like I'm going to need them."

"I will instruct Beck to purchase new ones tomorrow. They...did not survive." He quirked his brow and shrugged. "They were in the way."

Cara had to laugh. She could just imagine the state he left them in. She knotted the filled trash bag, handed it to Mark to put in the SUV, and in short order had another one filled, knotted and stowed.

Next she filled her laundry basket with shoes and various odds and ends. Godric caught her attention when she stood back up to survey the room. With a distinctly measuring look, he 'solemnly' held up a pair of her panties...tiny, red, lacy panties. Face on fire from her blush, she reached to snatch them from his hand...only to see him tuck the offending garment into the front pocket of his jeans with a wicked, wicked grin.

Mentally muttering to herself about 2100-year-old teenagers, Cara shook her head and finished filling the laundry basket and then another box with whatever wasn't broken in her bedroom. She dreaded going into the bathroom...she could see the trail of broken glass and knew it wasn't good.

Sure enough, very little was salvageable. She carefully stepped through the glass shards to rescue what she could while Godric watched vigilantly from the doorway. It didn't take her long to give up. Besides, she was getting a bit antsy...they'd been there almost half an hour already.

Godric and Cara returned to the kitchen to discover that Isabel and the Weres had done an excellent salvage job. Remnants of broken glasses, mugs, dishes, and appliances were swept into a corner, and what safe food stuffs remained were set out on the counter. Cara sighed at the mess, then calmly removed the filled bag from the trash can, put a clean bag in, and started loading it up with usable canned and dry goods to take to Godric's house. At Alaric's questioning look, she just shrugged. "No sense letting it go to waste if it's not hurt."

After handing off the very heavy trash can for Mark to load into the SUV, she went back into the living room with a big plastic bowl to see if she could save any of her plants. Their poor little broken bodies were scattered everywhere, but she managed to save quite a few of them.

She had just stood back up from retrieving her fallen keys when some instinct stilled her movements. Godric, who had never let her out of his sight, noticed and was by her side instantly. A moment later, every vampire and Were present suddenly erupted into fangs, growls and hisses as a pack of unfamiliar wolves burst snarling into the apartment.

Furious, Godric immediately placed himself between Cara and the wolves coming straight for her. As he lunged at the first attacker thrusting his fist through the wolf's heart, Isabel and Alaric rushed over to cover her thus freeing Godric to rain hell down on the snarling, snapping wolves.

Mark and Elise shifted into their wolf forms and started their attack. She didn't see DesChamps...he must be out front fighting alongside Chad and the other Were.

Cara edged over to the nearest corner and crouched down. Sounds from the brutal fight outside merged with the bloody, sickening chaos inside until it was hard for her to separate the two. She sat the bowl with the plants in it down, readied her mace, grabbed a broken table leg and was thankful her only neighbor in the building was almost deaf.

She could barely identify Godric, his movements were far too fast, but she certainly heard him. The frightening power in his snarls and growls filled the air as growing piles of bloody, furry body parts littering the room gave testimony to his skill and fury. Every so often a wolf would land with a loud whimper abruptly cut short. She stopped trying to track him after seeing him shred a wolf with his fangs.

Alaric and Isabel fought the few wolves who evaded his rampage, kicking and biting and ripping off arms and legs and heads.

How large _was_ this pack? The wolves just kept on coming! Every time the noise level died down a bit, more wolves came. Then more!

Sharp pain ripping through her shoulder and arm drew Cara's attention away from watching Isabel rip the head off the wolf who had just jumped at the vampiress. Cara screamed and maced the black and tan wolf directly in his gaping mouth, then slammed the table leg down hard on its snout.

The wolf was dead the next second when Godric, bloodied, snarling, blue eyes blazing, grabbed its neck in one hand and snapped it before throwing it through the wall behind her.

He paused just long enough for her to shout, "Not life-threatening - go!" She held the edges of the long, deep gash on her arm together as best she could.

The scent of her blood incited the remaining wolves to reckless insanity. Finally, after what seemed like hours, total silence abruptly descended. Godric suddenly materialized in front of her.

He crouched down and gently lifted her arm to survey the deep gash. Without saying a word, he drew her into his bloody lap, bit his wrist, and held it to her mouth.

"Drink," he commanded...pleaded...

Gazing into his worried blue eyes, cherishing his bloodied face, she tried desperately not to think about what she was about to do. Resolutely, Cara closed her lips around the wound on his wrist and slowly but steadily drew his blood into her mouth. Shocked, she realized that his cool, thick blood tasted nothing like her own. Disjointed words like 'chocolate' and 'wine' and 'spice' floated through her mind as she swallowed his healing life-force.

After several long draws, his bite healed itself. When he started to reopen his wound, she stopped him. "It's ok, I can feel me healing," she whispered. "You don't need to lose any more blood." She could see through his torn shirt where a long gash of his own was healing.

She noticed the intensity of his focus on her arm...specifically, the blood on her arm. Knowing a bit about vampire etiquette, she offered it to him. His eyes flew to hers, and the need she saw floored her.

"Here," she encouraged. Stealing himself against the ambrosia he feared her blood to be, he proceeded to clean and heal her arm with a tongue as soft as a kitten's.

Lust, blood and otherwise, burned through Godric. He had fought well defending his woman, and the urge to claim and drink from her warred with his mantle of civility. He could not allow himself to take from her, not yet, not while she was still healing from her wounds.

Pride for his woman sang through his blood. He had seen centuries old vampires wilt under stress of battles half as fierce as this, yet Cara..._his_ Cara...had wielded what weapons she could find and defended herself quite adequately even when hurt badly for a human, especially a human female not accustomed to combat.

Ahh, finally the bothersome wounds on his chest were almost healed. He needed to check casualties, assign damage control, call in the cleaners - but all he wanted to do was hold his woman...taste his woman...claim his woman...

He needed to get her away from this place to the safety of his home ere aught else happened this night.

"Isabel, you are well?"

"Yes, Master. The only casualties are Mark and Chad, and they will heal in time."

"See Cara and the injured Weres back to the estate now."

Isabel immediately helped Cara stand from Godric's lap and assisted her out the door. She instructed DesChamps to help load the injured Weres into the black SUV, and immediately thereafter they departed.

"Alaric? Report."

Alaric ducked back into the living room from outside. "Master, there were no witnesses."

"Run a perimeter check just to be certain." Alaric sped off.

"DesChamps?"

"Except for Mark and Chad, all my Weres are fine except for the usual cuts and bruises. But, I have some bad news. Two of their attack force escaped toward the end. They turned coward and ran off."

"Fuck! Call in your best trackers this instant. Do not kill. They must be contained and interrogated."

"Yes, sir, on it." DesChamps whipped out his cell. A minute later, he reported that three of his next-best trackers were en route. Elise was in no condition to chase after the runners. Non-lunar shifting plus a quick, brutal fight took a lot out of the Were.

Godric could tell through the now-strong bond that Cara was healing. Tired, hungry, and uncomfortable, but healing. He knew his child would care for her as she needed, and that the supe doctor would visit. Not trusting himself to be alone with her just yet, Godric, along with Alaric and DesChamps, stayed at the apartment until the cleaners arrived.

Finally, he allowed himself to go home and check on his mate.

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****And...their evening STILL isn't over...{*cheeky grin*}... Reviews, please!****

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	27. Chapter 27

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

_**Also: NSFW! Yes, it finally gets rather HAWT in here...**_

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 27~**

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**(Hands, aka: One Very, Very, Very Long Evening...Part C)**

When Cara arrived back at the house, she wanted nothing more than a good, long bath and a good, long sleep, but two wounded Weres and her own empty stomach had other ideas. She was surprised she could stomach the thought of food at all after the gory scene she'd just left...on second thought, maybe not. Ewe.

She and Isabel drove Mark and Chad around to the small lodge the Weres were using while guarding the estate, and helped them inside. Cara called Sarah for Chad, knowing she would want to be there with her boyfriend, while Isabel called a supe doctor.

"You guys have your own doctor?" Cara didn't know why she was surprised; it only made sense.

"Oh yes. Regular hospitals would not be able to treat any of the very few problems that could affect vampires, and none of the other supes have revealed themselves yet. Dr. Ludwig's entire family is in the supe medicinal profession. She's a gnome, so don't be surprised at her appearance, sudden and otherwise."

And sure enough, just after settling the two Weres into separate rooms, a short, gnarly, little woman literally appeared out of thin air in the living room of the guard's lodge. She had the biggest medical bag Cara had ever seen in her hand.

Cara soon wondered if all gnomes were ill-tempered, impatient and innately disdainful of...everyone, but didn't ask. At least she went right to work on the Weres and seemed to know what she was doing.

"Isabel, while she's doing her doctor thing, I'm going to run up to the house and grab the boys some liquids and something light to eat. I'll be right back."

"Wait one moment," Isabel requested, then stuck her head out the door. A minute later, two Weres Cara didn't know appeared. "Escort Cara to the house and bring back whatever she sends."

She threw a confused looked at Isabel, who responded, "I sense unease from my Maker, so I would rather err on the side of caution where your safety is concerned."

Cara, tired, sore, aching, and feeling more than a little disconcerted from the effects of Godric's blood in her system, just nodded. When she and the Weres pulled up to the front door, Beck, Godric's day man, was holding the door open.

"Hey, Beck. You're here awfully late," Cara greeted the kindly man.

"Yes, miss. I received a call from Mr. Godric saying my assistance might be helpful?"

"I don't know what all he might need you to do," Cara walked toward the kitchen as she spoke with Beck, "but I can tell you that apparently you're going to be buying a new washer and dryer tomorrow." She laughed, then started pilling a bunch of stuff on the counters for the wounded Weres.

Cara had gotten herself a cup of coffee started, then began setting jugs of juice, boxes of crackers, cheese, apples, oranges, and a gallon of milk onto the kitchen counter for the injured Weres.

"Beck, I hate to say it, but I might need you to go to the grocery store tomorrow, too. I don't know how I'll be feeling then." Cara hated having other people do things for her; she'd much rather be self-sufficient, but she could delegate with the best of them when needed.

"I bet you're going to be sore as hell tomorrow, little girl," said an ill-tempered voice behind her. "What's all this? You should be resting."

Cara turned around and spotted the small doctor.

"Hi, Dr. Ludwig. Would you care for a cup of coffee? I'm getting stuff together for Mark and Chad. Mainly liquids, though, since I think they lost a lot of blood tonight. You'll have to tell me what kind of food to shove down their throats tomorrow, though. I was thinking about making a huge pot of brothy vegetable beef stew?"

"Excellent ideas, all three of them, now sit your ass down. You're injured, too. I can smell you've had Godric's blood, so you're most likely going to be fine, but I still need to check you out."

Cara laughed; she couldn't help it. "Guys, go ahead and take this stuff over to the boys. I'm going to get doctored."

Beck and the Weres stood gaping in amazement at both the interaction between Cara and the tiny doctor (who was being somewhat nicer than usual) and at the thought of Godric giving the girl his blood. The doctor was highly skilled, but something of a snob, and Godric...he rarely even interacted with humans, and to give one his blood?

The human simply finished making her own cup of coffee, then started on the doctor's. She waved the Were's on out the door with the items for the injured guys, and suggested Beck start on a grocery list for the morrow.

"Milk? Sugar? Splenda?" Cara asked the doctor over her shoulder.

"Black."

As soon as the doctor's coffee was ready, Cara invited the tiny doctor and her huge bag into the den, then gratefully plopped down on a sofa.

"Ahhh, finally. My ass has missed this whole sitting-down thing."

The doctor snickered then sipped her coffee. As she inspected the human's wounds, just as suspected she detected Godric's blood in her system. This shocked the doctor.

Through the scarily-efficient supe gossip system, she'd heard that Godric had a human female working in his home, which was cause enough for curiosity. That ancient vampire, one of a scant handful she could tolerate, hadn't kept pets or donors, or whatever the hell they called their food, in recent memory. She knew he fed once in a blue moon; he had to. Regardless of what bullshit vampires fed the public, she knew 'mainstreaming' was a crock of hogwash. Vampires needed real blood; that fake shit didn't do squat for them.

Still, of all the vamps she'd had the bad luck to meet, Godric was one of a precious few she actually respected. She knew his reputation well: calm, extremely powerful but controlled, highly intelligent and a great strategist, and one of the best fighters on the planet. He was also a known loner. At _his_ age, she really wouldn't expect any less, but with vampires, you never knew. As a species they were cocky and had terrible superiority complexes.

But for one so old, powerful, and appreciative of his own privacy to give some girl his blood, there must be something about that girl. Although the doctor sensed a tinge of something 'other' about her, she really didn't see anything special about her. Granted, she did have a good head on her shoulders about sending nutritious liquids and good, light snacks over to the injured Were boys. And she wasn't the least bit stuck-up like you'd expect an ancient, highly-respected vampire's fuck toy to be. She sniffed. Nope, not his fuck toy yet at any rate. So why would he give what smelled like a decent amount of his blood to the girl? At least she wasn't one of those filthy fangbangers.

Dr. Ludwig handed Cara a small tube of ointment. "Here, smear this on your wounds after you bathe. You'll be feeling more than fine by tomorrow judging by the amount of his blood I smell in you."

"Can I ask you about that? The blood, I mean. Surely it's not normal for humans to go around drinking some other species' blood..." Cara grimaced; the doctor laughed. "...but he didn't really give me a whole lot of choice. I was bleeding pretty bad and trying to hold the edges of my arm skin together. That wasn't fun, but drinking his blood actually wasn't as loathsome as you'd think." Cara looked perplexed.

The doctor set her coffee cup on the table and started talking. Damn. For some stupid reason she kind of liked the girl. "As you can tell, vampire blood heals. What you don't know is that the older the vampire, the stronger their blood. Tomorrow you're going to feel healthier all over, not just your wounds. Your hair will be shinier, which makes no sense because it's just dead protein sitting on the top of your scalp, but there ya go. It's the magic in their blood. Your teeth will be whiter, your skin clearer. And, bluntly, you're going to be hornier." She cackled at Cara's blush.

"Oh, yeah, your libido is going to skyrocket. You'll probably have dreams about Godric, and it won't be butterflies and rainbows unless your sex life is off-the-wall weird. His blood won't make you like him, but if you already have feelings for him, the blood will make them stronger. _You_ are going to be stronger and faster, and your senses of smell, sight and sound will increase noticeably. These changes won't last forever. Depending on the amount of his blood you ingested, it could last upwards of three to five months, give or take, unless he gives you more. There's really no way of telling how long it'll last, or exactly how it'll affect you, but there ya are. But," the doctor paused for effect, "now he can tell what you're feeling, and he can locate you if he wants to."

"Huh?" Cara was hyper-eloquent in her surprise.

Dr. Ludwig liked the girl's dead-eye serious stare. "Yup. If you're scared, worried, horny," she loved making that girl blush - it was so funny, "he'll be able to sense it. If you get lost or kidnapped, he'll be able to find you through his blood. It's a case of 'blood sensing blood' and 'blood calling blood', and has to do with innate vampire magic."

"If his blood can call to his blood, does that mean he can control me somehow?"

The doctor saw that the girl was finding her high horse and considering climbing up on it, and didn't blame her a bit. She was a smart one! Maybe she _could_ see why Godric wanted her. "Technically, if he fed you enough of his blood, then yes, he could control you to a certain extent, but I don't see that happening. For one thing, you haven't had _nearly_ enough of his blood for that. And for another, Godric just isn't like that. I'm not saying he's perfect, far from it, but he's one of the very few decent vampires I've ever run across. So don't worry about that."

She paused to finish her coffee and considered telling the girl about bonds. Nah. It was getting late and damn if she wouldn't have to come back here tomorrow and check on those fool Were boys anyway.

"Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." Then she and her bag disappeared.

Cara sat and stared into space for a few long minutes, then with a sigh she went back to the kitchen. Moping had yet to fill her empty stomach.

After heating and quickly eating some left-over soup, she reviewed the grocery list with Beck, added a few things, then got up to wash her few dishes. Beck intervened, so she gladly said goodnight and went up to take a shower.

She eyeballed the gorgeous jetted tub and quickly decided a nice long soak was in order. After adding some of the contents of one of the bottles of deliciously scented bubble bath sitting by the tub, she got her bath started. She still didn't have any of her clothes here, so she decided to just wear the handy-dandy bath robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door to bed.

Ahhhhh...warm peace surrounded her as she slowly lowered herself into the tub. Godric's ancient blood must be extremely powerful, she thought. The only evidence left from the Were attack were some long red lines; she didn't even have any bruises left. Anderson's grip marks were gone, and even her slightly achy back felt better.

She let her head rest on the tub as she thought back to the fight. She couldn't believe just how many damn wolves kept coming! And Godric...wow...damn! That vampire was a fighting machine! Although she'd stopped trying to keep an eye on him after seeing him dismember a living Were with his fangs, she would still catch glimpses of him as he tore limbs from attacking wolves or rammed his fist through a chest to take the heart out the other side. She shivered with the memory of all the blood and gore.

Determined to change the scene in her mind, she stretched and made herself relax as she thought about her plants. She wished she hadn't left them there. They weren't much, but they were hers, and they needed to be replanted as soon as possible. Maybe one of the Weres would go retrieve them for her tomorrow...

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

"Cara? Cara, wake up. Come on, ma chere, you are going to get cold."

Cara blinked and stretched a little. What? Surely that wasn't...

"Godric!" She hurriedly sank farther down in the tub wishing there were more bubbles left in the water. She didn't know that he'd been sitting on the side of the tub for the last fifteen minutes.

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

She looked so beautiful sleeping in her bubble bath, Godric thought.

He had finally come home after dispatching everyone to their responsibilities and was impatient to find Cara now that he was certain his lusts were under control. As he approached the house, his bond told him that she was resting peacefully; not asleep, but very relaxed, so he took the time to heat and down two bloods and wash the Were gore from his body.

When he had entered his home, he had detected the scent of his favorite bubble bath that he had supplied for her pleasure, and figured she was relaxing in a warm bath. He became worried when he still had not heard her moving around even after his quick meal and shower, so he went to check on her.

Sure enough, she was asleep in the tub. His first thought was to wake her and perhaps lightly chastise her for taking such a thoughtless risk with her precious life, but realized that the sudden lessening of the unusual stresses of the day must have relaxed her far more quickly than she had anticipated.

So, he watched over her as she slept. That she was unclothed beneath those bubbles did not escape his attentions.

Damp from the steam, loose strands of dark hair curled around her sleep-flushed face. Her beautiful face was softened in her light slumber, full lips gently parted, one arm draped across her hips, the other lax by her side.

Looking down, he saw that the wounds on her shoulder were both healed and healing. The marks undoubtedly left by Anderson had completely healed. He was rather proud of himself for being strong enough to leave Anderson alive, even if the mangy pup had started begging for death not three minutes after he had removed the duct tape.

The deep bite mark on her shoulder and the long gash on her arm were now just a series of red lines. No doubt by the morning even those reminders would be gone. He had enjoyed the death of that Were more than any other in his memory.

Later, he would ponder how the Weres knew to attack as they had. Later, he would plan retribution and eradication. Later, he would think of something other than his Cara...naked...in a bubble bath. His throbbing fangs snicked out to their full length.

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

"Falling asleep in the water is a good way to drown, ma chere. But it has been a very long day for you, has it not?" His voice, deep with desire and hunger, rumbled through her embarrassment. He reached his hand out to stroke his fingers down her warm, flushed cheek.

His eyes, burning bright blue and dilating with need, captured her warm brown gaze. Her lips parted, but instead of speaking she bit down on her bottom lip as if to halt her words. His searing gaze focused intently on her mouth, Godric gently swept his thumb over her lip to free it from her blunt teeth.

He swallowed hard. "If you must bite something, my love, bite me, not your own sweet flesh," he requested, his voice thick with need. The words caused a warm ache to burn deep in her core.

Mesmerizing. There was something mesmerizing about the two millennia old vampire sitting on the side of the tub...looking at her, touching her with his gaze and his hand...she couldn't look away. The logical part of her brain knew she should be mortified that she was wet and naked and that most of the bubbles were gone, but the way he was looking at her...

Completely out of her depth and sinking fast, she decided logic could go straight to hell. She slowly sat up, and covered his hand with hers to press her cheek into his palm.

His eyes flashed...his nostrils flared at the luscious, heady scent of her arousal. "Be sure, ma chere, be very, _very_ sure," he growled deep and low. His rigid body gave an involuntary spasm.

The scent of her arousal made his thick cock ache. He knew he could not endure much more before losing his meager restraint, but it had to be her choice.

She swallowed hard, his eyes tracking the movement intimately, then scanning lower. Her nipples, tight from the cooler air and his hot gaze, taunted him with their sweet pink tips. He hissed as he forced his gaze back up to meet hers.

Now unable to form a coherent thought, much less speak, Cara simply turned her face into his hand, and kissed his palm.

With a feral groan that rattled the walls, Godric had her out of the bathtub and on her bed in the blink of an eye.

Fighting every single instinct demanding he claim her immediately, he gently lowered her to the bed and stretched out beside her. When Cara reached up to stroke his face, he groaned and stilled himself completely, then took her hand in his. After kissing her knuckles, he lowered her hand to the bed.

Noticing her confusion, he ground out, "Later, my love, you can do with me what you will, but just now I crave you too much...have ached too long to withstand the sweet torture of your touch."

He slipped his hand behind her neck and crushed his mouth to hers. His other hand caressed the firm roundness of her breast then started teasing and rolling her nipple as his tongue thrust deep and hard between her lips. Long moments later, as his strong, dark scent enveloped her with the haze of desire, his hand slowly skimmed lower to part her thighs.

Cara grabbed hold of the sheets to keep from touching him as his hand left her tight nipple and slid painfully slowly over her ribs, past her hip, down to her knee, up the inside of her thigh...then finally...finally! She felt her lower muscles clench so tight she thought she was going to come right then.

He found her slick with desire and, after a couple of torturously slow strokes, gently inserted one finger into her tight channel. Fangs and cock throbbing, he struggled to slow himself down. He knew he needed to prepare her for him. She was still too tight...he refused to hurt her with his thickness and fervor.

Tongue and finger probing her in matching primal rhythm, he slowly added a second finger and almost cried in relief when she twisted and mewed with need. He raised his head just enough to allow her to breathe, then got lost in the beautiful pleasure on her flushed face. How long he had waited for this night!

Suddenly able to breathe freely, Cara took in great gulps of air as her world spun quickly out of control. Godric had obviously put every one of his 2100 years to damn good use. It was all she could do to hold onto the sheets as the pleasure and pressure built and built...

His whole body tingled and burned with pure, hot lust. Her groans and gasps of pleasure almost blew the top of his cock off.

He stroked her clit with his thumb in time with his thrusts inside her. She writhed and bucked harder when he finally added a third finger. He pumped his fingers faster and deeper, determined to drive her over the edge.

She moaned and clawed at the sheets when he found the most sensitive place inside her...and that thing he was doing to her clit...she couldn't hold back another second and came harder than she ever had before. She wasn't sure but she might have even screamed. As she lay there limp with pleasure, heart pounding, legs trembling, she could still feel him slowly pumping his fingers in and out, stretching her and helping her ride out the aftershocks.

Dreamily she looked up at him and felt herself clench hard and tight at the raw hunger on his face: skin taut, fangs fully extended, lips tight, blue eyes glowing, filled with longing and lust...

"Godric," she panted, "I want...to know what you...feel like...inside me."

He immediately disappeared from the bed to rip off his clothes at vamp speed. He then spread her thighs wide and knelt between them.

"Next time, I swear to you, I will go slower," he gasped as he lowered his mouth to her breast. He worked her nipple with his tongue then started sucking hard as he pounded his fingers into her slick warmth again and again, determined to bring her pleasure at least once more before taking his own.

Cara was shocked to feel that sharp fire warming, then burning again so soon. No longer able to stop herself from touching him, she ran her fingers through his hair as she pulled him closer to her breast, frantic to keep him close despite the uncontrollable writhing wrought by his touch.

"Oh, Godric...Oh God...OH GOD! FUCK!" She screamed moments later as she came hard once again.

"As...you...wish..." he growled as he positioned himself at her entrance.

The head of his cock teased her sensitive flesh as he braced his hands near her shoulders and gasped her name.

Cara raised her warm brown eyes, slightly dazed and unfocused, to meet the hard fire in his cobalt blue gaze a mere second before he slowly thrust into her all the way to the hilt. Her eyes widened at the huge size of him...she had never felt so full.

His arms quivered as he strove for restraint...he _had_ to give her time to adjust to his size.

She moved her hands up and down his back, encouraging him, savoring the feel of his hard muscles under his smooth skin, loving the feral look in his eyes as he gazed down at her.

Still drowning in the warm, welcoming haven of her eyes, every muscle in his body clenched as he slowly withdrew, then slowly entered...much too slowly for Cara.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, then jerked her hips at just the right angle...and brought him home too quick for him to maintain control. He had barely enough sanity to keep from vamp-fucking her.

Suddenly this was no gentle mating; he was claiming her, aggressively, possessively staking his claim, and instinctively she knew it. Her whole body moving with the force of his thrusts, Cara held on tight, scored her nails deep, and let him.

He drove into her, pounding over and over, relishing the feel of her nails in his back, the scent of her arousal mingling with his most basic male scent, and the sounds of their flesh slapping against each other as she met his every thrust.

Moments later, she came again...causing him to come hard and fast and with a feral snarl...and still he kept pounding, growling, head thrown back, fangs extended, completely captured by the ancient rhythm controlling his hard body.

Finally, through some intuition she didn't know she possessed, she sensed it was time and knew _exactly_ what he needed.

She tilted her head to the side and bared her neck to him.

With an unholy, triumphant roar, he struck quick to claim her fully. As he sank his gleaming fangs into her throat and drank, she came one last time, and pulled them both into the oblivion of ecstasy.

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****Ok, my muses keep tapping me on the shoulder wanting to know, so tell me: how bad do I suck at writing lemons? Should I give them up entirely, throw away my pen and paper and take up pottery, or toss more lemons, lemonade, and maybe a lemon meringue pie in later?****

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	28. Chapter 28

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

_****I am seriously OVERWHELMED with all of your incredible responses! THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to share your kind words and enthusiasm! **_

_**.**_

***cheeky grin* It was **_**NOT**_** a dream! *cheeky grin***

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 28~**

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**(Hands, aka: One Very, Very, Very Long Evening...Part D) **

A bit later Cara drowsily came to with the vibrations of a soft, lulling purr under her ear and the feeling of someone gently stroking her hair. Her ancient vampire lover had rearranged them so that he was on his back with her head on his chest, and he was making some sort of low, thrumming noise. The comforting rumble struck her as sounding highly satisfied.

She did a body check and felt a new, delicious soreness between her thighs. Maybe, she thought, since she'd had his blood just an hour or three ago, she might be able to walk later today. She had her happy doubts, though.

Wow...that man...vampire...whatever...damn, but he had skills. She'd never come so hard or so often in her life. She hadn't even been able to do any tasting or touching or exploring of her own - it had been all she could do just to hold on tight and absorb the demanding, blissful shock of his passion...his thrusts...his talented hands and hard cock and...damn...

But...it was more than that. She promised...threatened?...herself that _later_ she would ponder the emotional components of the most seriously incredible passion she'd ever even dreamed of... Because there _were_ emotions involved..._big_ emotions...lots of them...on _both_ their sides. Yeah...she'd deal with that later.

Godric must have sensed through his blood that she was awakening because his hand lowered to stroke her back in long, soothing sweeps. She wished she had some sort of stasis spell...she'd love to stay like that, exactly like that, forever.

But there was no such thing as forever. Still, maybe the universe wouldn't begrudge her a few more minutes in paradise. She rubbed her cheek over his chest, inhaling the lingering scent of their joining mixed with his own unique dark scent.

She leisurely smoothed her hand over his chest loving how the sounds were vibrating through his powerful body. His chest was smooth but the muscles were so firm and well-defined. She felt like purring herself as she lightly slid her palm over that place where his heart should have beat. There was something so satisfying about just...touching him.

The intensity of the purring rumble had inched up a notch in direct response to her caress, and he held her closer with his other arm. Cara concluded that her 2100-year-old vampire was, to all intents and purposes, a snuggler.

Wait..._what_? _Her_ vampire? When the fuck did she start thinking in terms like that? What had she done? _What the...!_ Cara strongly willed her body not to stiffen up, not to jump up, not to run screaming from the room...and concentrated instead on his long, soothing strokes over her back... the scent of him in her nose...that sweetly-satisfied, well-claimed tender place that might have been her heart...and the surprising return of that fire between her thighs.

How'n seven hells could she want him again so damn soon? She honestly didn't think any other woman had ever been so well and so thoroughly ridden - to the point of passing out, even. She felt a smile of pure, feminine satisfaction grace her slightly-swollen lips.

She wondered what _he_ thought about all that just happened. She wondered what _he_ was thinking about...now. She wondered what her chances were of getting him _moving_ instead of _talking_.

Godric felt her brief foray into slight panic, but it was not unexpected. Nothing, he concluded, would ever be simple with his beautiful Cara. He wished he could express his pride in her when she stilled herself instead of giving in to the urge to bolt. He was definitely proud of himself for resisting the urge to lock her in his quarters to prevent such possibilities in the first place.

He mentally sighed as he concluded that their joining, fiery, primal, and earth-shattering as it had been, was just the first step of the many it would take to thoroughly bring her into his life. In some ways she already fit perfectly, but he worried about what she called her "issues". Somehow he feared that all the patience he had perfected during his 2100 years would be put to great use...and she would be worth every moment.

Through his bond he could tell that she was in great thought, and this pleased him. Thinking was much preferable to hiding or simply reacting blindly. He wondered if she realized that he had claimed her, and if she did, how would she respond? There was no taking it back now as he would never willingly let her go.

But...perhaps he should not inform her of that just yet, he wisely concluded. No, it was the better part of valor to move slower, to let her feel more in control of their relationship. After all, he had forever. Unfortunately, she did not...but he would dwell on that another night.

For now, he had his woman in his arms; she was safe, she was satisfied, and she was not panicking. Godric decided that his undeath was amazingly good.

Surprising them both, Cara finally raised her head enough to meet his contented blue eyes. He had expected her to hide behind the facade of sleep or some such nonsense for a while longer.

He looked just as much the "fully satisfied male" as she'd suspected, but...he'd earned it in spades. An errant thought flitted through her mind. He was definitely the feline-vampire version of the King of Beasts...a fearsome, virile male fully in his prime, no matter how young he appeared. Slowly, his lips curved into the most peaceful smile.

As usual she found his smile contagious, even if she did find this one a bit surprising after the feral passion they'd just shared. After spending all that...emotion...it seemed like there ought to be holes in the ceiling or a cracked foundation somewhere...maybe a broken water line spewing all over the place?

"Hey." She couldn't help but grin.

His smile widened, pleased and surprised by the openness of her expression...and the acceptance of his claim that it implied. "Hey, yourself." His calm blue eyes beamed his joy and approval. A shadow briefly crossed his face. "Are you ok? I did not hurt you, did I?" The bond told him she was well, but...it was only a light bond. He worried that maybe he had harmed her in his fervor.

Cara wriggled experimentally. "Nope, I'm fine. But wouldn't your blood tell you that?" Her hard stare nailed him even if her grin said otherwise.

Internally, Godric gulped. It was too soon...she was still too skittish... Fuck. However, he had promised he would never lie to her, and he would keep his word.

Releasing an unnecessary breath, he replied, "Yes, it would, but our connection is still very light." He paused when she shifted around a bit and rested her chin on his chest. Feeling himself harden again, he did some shifting himself.

"If you are hurt, I would know. I will be able to sense how you feel, and where you are. But the effects will remain mild until they wear off in about five months, more or less, unless you take my blood again."

Cara nodded at his brief explanation. He seemed oddly worried...maybe he didn't want to be that intimately connected to her? Somehow that thought much hurt more than she was willing to acknowledge.

"What troubles you, ma petite?" He could sense her sudden sorrow and pain, and did not like it one bit.

She looked away and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm fine," she lied badly. She started to get up and suddenly found herself flat on her back with a very serious vampire staring down at her.

"We will have no lies between us, my love. Now, tell me, what troubles you?" Whatever it was, he would kill it, fix it, or buy it. After the incredible...rightness...of earlier there was no way he was going to let her go...not without one hell of a fight. Just as he suspected, they were perfect together.

Trapped by both his powerful body and his determined stare, she sighed. She guessed there'd be _talking_ after all. The stern resolve in his ancient blue eyes told her he would not be thwarted. Damn'd strong-minded, sexy-as-fuck, antique vampires.

Sensing her trepidation, Godric swept his fingers lightly from her brow to her chin then soothed his thumb over her cheek. Feeling her slight ease at his caress, he repeated the action several times, then lowered his forehead to meet hers.

Needing to hear her worries, and fearing both their cause and their consequences, he had automatically slipped into his commanding persona. Such tactics, however, would not work with his Cara. He called upon his gentle, humorous side instead.

"Talk to me, ma chere. I want to hear your words," he whispered in her ear.

As he intended, she quietly giggled at the memory of him saying almost the same thing earlier that evening. To his immense relief, her arms rose to circle his back, drawing him closer and encouraging his weight to settle more completely on her.

After trying to gather her courage, she gave up, and simply whispered in his ear, "When you started explaining about the effects of your blood, it just seemed like you weren't very happy about it, that's all."

He jerked slightly - how did she know? He then nuzzled her ear a bit before replying, "Perhaps I should clarify? I _want_ you to have my blood..._my_ blood. I _want_ to know how you feel, and if you are safe. I did not like that you were hurt, and I did not like that the _only_ reason you had my blood was to heal you." He paused to let his words sink in and tried not to think about how her warmth and their combined scents were affecting his cock.

Although evidence of his arousal was extremely obvious, he was in no hurry to rush through a conversation with her, but not touching her was more than he could tolerate.

"The next time you have my blood, it will be by choice, and in the comfort of my bed. It will be _your_ _choice_," he repeated firmly, "not necessity, although I will gladly heal you should you need it."

He nuzzled her ear again and whispered, "The thought of my blood flowing through your veins," his voice deepened into a growl, "satisfies something... primal...in me."

Godric nipped at her earlobe and smiled wickedly at her gasp. His hips settled more firmly into the cradle of her own as his tongue traced the edges of her ear.

Her fingers clawing into his strong back, Cara groaned and spread her thighs, raising one leg to allow him closer. "So," she began, then groaned as he lightly nipped her neck with his blunt teeth then soothed the bite with open-mouth kisses, "so...you really don't mind that I've had your blood?" She wanted to be sure, not that there was much she could do about it if he did, but still... She shuddered as he drew his fangs down her throat.

He drew back enough to catch her misty gaze. "I would not have given you my blood had I not wanted you to have it, ma petite."

Her tremulous smile weakened his resolve, and he had to kiss her. Slowly, almost reverently, he slid his lips back and forth across hers, pausing to lick and nibble at her bottom lip until she opened for him. His tongue, smooth as wet silk, expertly tangled with hers during his painfully slow exploration of her mouth.

Cara suspected she was finding out what heaven on earth felt like. The masculine weight of her gorgeous ancient vampire was settled perfectly on her body, one hand braced near her shoulder, the other caressing her breast and wreaking incredible havoc on her nipple. His hips nestled in the cradle of hers, his tongue and teeth were doing sweet, blissful damage to her senses... Finally she decided now was a great time to do something she'd been too shy to do much of before.

She cupped his cheeks and slowly drew his head back from hers just enough to break contact with his mouth, then, ignoring his quizzical look, slightly raised her head and very, very carefully licked one of his fangs. His hard shudder told her that he enjoyed the new contact, so she repeated the action with a bit more confidence...again and again and again.

His low, guttural moans of satisfaction encouraged her to close her lips around his fang and suck. Moments later, she turned her loving attentions to his other fang. With a feral hiss, he took control of the kiss, turning it immediately into a demanding, thrusting claiming of her mouth.

He eased his hips back, lightly grazing his thick cock over her slick folds, then slid forward eliciting a breathy gasp from Cara. He set up a teasing rhythm of easing back then lightly sliding forward while attacking her lips with deep, long, demanding kisses.

The combination of the light teasing movements and hard, thorough kisses was driving her insane. She clutched at his broad shoulders and bucked her hips, writhing and squirming under his expert seduction. When he would release her lips to let her breathe, he would focus his attention on her neck, shoulders, collarbone, anywhere he could reach received soft nips and softer kisses until he would capture her lips again.

Godric was determined that their second joining would be slower, easier, less frantic and hectic. He was determined to show her a more romantic, considerate side of himself, but he was not sure how much longer he could last. He wanted to show her that not every mating would result in him trying to rut her through the mattress...but he had his doubts.

The instinct to take, to plunge and thrust and stake his claim on his mate, was screaming loud and proud.

Cara couldn't decide if it was his hips or his lips that would be her end, but either way, she knew she didn't have far to go. Suddenly, thankfully, he started moving faster...harder. He shifted, slipped his hand between them and, intently watching her every expression, plunged two fingers deep inside and started pumping them while rubbing her clit with just enough pressure to send her screaming straight over the edge.

As if her explosion was his cue, he shifted back, grabbed his cock, and positioned himself at her center. Eyes locked, he slowly, carefully, eased his cold thickness into her slick, tight warmth.

She gasped and he hissed at the immediate waves of pleasure burning through them. Filling her to the hilt, he stopped to give her time to adjust, and memorized the feeling of being inside her tight, hot body.

Compelled to move but resisting firmly, he shuddered when her hands raked over his back and cupped his ass.

She loved his ass, high, firm, rounded just right, and took this perfect opportunity to cup and squeeze and massage it.

"Cara," he growled out a shaky laugh. He adored her hands on his body. "You are playing with fire."

"No, you silly old vampire, I'm playing with your incredible ass," she giggled back.

His spurt of laughter vibrated through both their bodies from where they were joined so intimately. "So you like my ass, yes?" He just had to go and cock that brow.

She gave his firm buttock a squeeze. "Oh, yeah. Very, very much so," her voice trailed off seductively. She lazily drew her nails up his back to finally bring his neck close to her mouth.

She nipped his throat over and over with her blunt teeth, then soothed the bites with open, tonguing kisses as she memorized the contours of his back. She figured two could play at that exquisite game. Ohhhh, but the scent of his skin...the taste of his skin...the feel of the appreciative rumbles coursing through his rigid body at a particularly sharp nip...the sound of his hiss when she would moan her pleasure...

Finally he could stand the delicious torture no longer and started moving...slowly at first, determined to be more gentle this time, but before long her legs wound around his waist and he gripped her shoulders and once again the headboard made continuous banging contact with the wall.

Do not bite...her scent...so good...do not...bite...long day...tired...she needed...blood...tired...no...do...not...bite... As he pounded and thrust into her, he kept mentally chanting reasons not to bite as he neared his release, and it almost worked...until she bared her neck to him again.

He instinctively struck and drank, though not quite as hard as before. She clutched his head to her neck and came hard, clenching tight and causing him to ride out the pounding waves of explosive bliss with her.

Later, as she shifted minutely under his satisfying weight and cradled his head to her neck, she realized that she was vaguely proud of herself for not passing out this time. His tongue tickled as he lapped the last few drops of blood from his bite and then healed her.

Finally able to string together a coherent sentence, she just had to tell him something. "Honey, if that's with I get for playing with fire, remind me to buy a lighter," she breathlessly whispered in his ear.

Lying atop his mate, spent and collapsed from the force of their passions, Godric laughed. As he wrapped his arms tight around his lax, smiling Cara and rolled them to their sides to keep from crushing her with his weight, he continued laughing. As he pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed and covered his woman to keep her warm, he still laughed.

He tilted her chin up and gazed into her slightly dazed, glistening brown eyes, then gently kissed her swollen lips.

"You have had a very long day, my love. Rest, now. I will watch over you while you sleep yourself out," he requested as he nuzzled her forehead...cheeks...nose...lips...

For just this moment, his instincts were...satisfied. He had his Cara in his arms, his blood and spent seed inside her, his scent all over her...and she was happy. His heart was so filled with joy it hurt.

_MINE_.

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****(Aren't you glad it wasn't a dream? *cheeky grin*) Well, here's a second serving of what I hope is lemony goodness - hope you like! I'm highly afraid they're going to pound a hole in her bedroom wall... Review, please?** **

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	29. Chapter 29

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

**A humongous HELLO & THANK YOU to all the new people who favorited and followed me and this story! WELCOME ABOARD!**

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 29~**

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**(...the next day...) **

Cara woke up alone. For just a moment she thought the incredible events of the night before were just another fuck-hot dream...till she stretched. Oh...yeah...so not a dream... She groaned as she got up for a badly-needed trip to the bathroom.

Once there, she decided that a nice soak in the tub...the tub that started it all...was definitely in order.

She thought back over last night's events as she ran her bath. She was tempted to check for a Buffy-esque HellMouth somewhere close, or at least cracks in the foundation. Last night was just that impressive. Monumental. Cosmic, even. Twice...with many, many smaller earthquakes.

Well.

Huh.

So that happened.

Several times.

Shaking her head as she lowered herself into the warm bath, she realized she liked the slight, lingering soreness between her thighs. Just as she liked how Godric had stroked her hair and back as he soothed her off to sleep at some point early that morning. Just as she apparently liked every freakin' thing else about him.

She sighed later as she got out of the tub. There was no way to tell what time it was since he'd made off with the alarm clock, and her cell phone and purse were somewhere...downstairs?...she hoped.

Cara shrugged. She had to get dressed, but she _still_ didn't have any of her clothes up here with her. What, was she going to cook dinner for a bunch of Weres - in someone else's home - in a bathrobe? But there was no way she was going to put on those nasty, bloody, gory disgusting clothes from last night, either.

After she put on the robe, she noticed a note lying flat on the bathroom counter. With a secret smile, she opened it.

My Cara,

After the undoubtedly exhausting events of last night, both cursed and blessed, I hope you will sleep yourself out. To that end, I bade Elise help Sarah, so do not feel you must rush yourself.

When you do rise for your day, check your closet. There you will find a few changes of clothing to tide you over for a few days until you and Isabel can go shopping. I expect you to let me know if you need anything at all.

Thank you for the most deeply satisfying night of my existence.

Godric

Clutching the note to her breast and refusing to think about how very...satisfying...the night before had been, Cara approached the huge closet with trepidation. She hated when people bought clothes for her - they never fit right, the colors were usually wrong, and the styles were generally too...stylish. Being a "jeans and t-shirt" girl was hard work when the world wanted "fashionistas"...

She opened the closet door and a grin spread slowly over her face. Jeans, khakis, loose t-shirts, plain and button-up knit tops, sweaters, a couple of loose flowing skirts, fleecy work-out gear to lounge around in, and several cardigans were hung neatly in small groups.

Under the clothing sat three pairs of her favorite type of slip-ons in coffee, tan and ivory leather, two different pairs of the expensive type of sneakers she would never purchase for herself, a couple pairs of flats to match the skirts, and two pairs of comfy slippers.

A few changes of clothes my ass, she mumbled with a grin as she continued trying not to remember just how "deeply satisfying" the night before had been.

On the table in the middle of the huge closet were three large department store bags. Giddy with relief at the practical wearability of her new clothing, she sat on the chair near the table and happily investigated the contents of the bags...and blushed scarlet at the thought of poor Beck having to buy her bras and panties...very pretty sets of bras and panties at that. The last bag even had socks and some silky, lacy sleep sets, too.

Cara snorted: there wasn't a receipt or a price tag to be found.

As she got dressed, she noticed everything fit exactly right. Sneaky Godric...he must have looked at her sizes.

When she arrived in the common rooms, the first thing she noticed was that the Weres were in the middle of dinner. The second thing she noticed was that Godric was in the den and in deep conversation with Isabel, Scott, and Gervaise. The third thing she noticed was how his gaze followed her every movement.

His face didn't change expression when he caught her eye, but it didn't have to. The look in his eyes was plenty hot enough. Cara smiled, blushed, ducked her head and strode straight for her coffee machine.

Coffee...yeah, that's it...coffee..., she chanted to herself. Pretend you don't see him tracking your every movement... Coffee initiated, she glanced around the kitchen and Sarah and Elise nodded to her. They obviously had everything under control.

And that's when she noticed that every single Were sitting around the large table was looking at her...and sniffing?

A few minutes later, Sarah and Elise appeared by her side. At least they waited until she downed half her cup of coffee and a couple too many Advil before they started with the talking.

Well, Elise did. Sarah simply leaned over, sniffed her, and, with a knowing grin, quietly declared that it was about damn time. Elise grinned widely at that.

From his position in the den, Godric silently agreed. Now there would be no question of who she belonged to, and all supes would know the dangers they would face should they bother her in the slightest. It was deeply gratifying knowing he now had the legal right to give final death to anyone who so much as touched her.

Cara flushed, then looked Sarah straight in the eye...and winked. She then calmly finished her coffee and went to make another cup. Her only hint was a bit of a breeze before strong, cool arms pulled her close to a firm chest.

"Did you rest well?" Cool lips grazed her ear.

Embarrassed by the PDA but enjoying the close contact, Cara relaxed a bit into his embrace and replied, "Quite well, actually. Somehow, and I can't imagine how it happened, I ended up pretty tired last night. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

A satisfied, masculine chuckle tickled her ear. Through his blood, Godric could sense Cara's slight discomfort with his public display of affection, but that was something he was certain she would overcome in time. After her calmly proud reaction to Sarah's words, his pride demanded he touch her, and he freely admitted to himself that the scent of him on her...in her...was addictive. He buried his nose in her neck and inhaled deeply. She wore his scent well.

She finished preparing her coffee, save for the milk. That would have required leaving his arms, which she was strangely loathe to do. Instead, she turned around to face him.

She gladly noted that his young, strong face still had a healthier pink cast from her blood the night before. She couldn't help but return the small grin teasing his lips; he was just so cute with the tips of his fangs peeping out. Then she got trapped in the heat of his dark blue gaze. Oh yeah...last night definitely happened.

His face became much more serious. "I am sorry you needed to take pain relievers. I should have given you blood afterward to heal you." He kissed her cheek in apology. "Next time I will be much more careful."

He silently chided himself for not having thought to see to her comfort. Granted, his blood and her long sleep had completely healed all her wounds to the point that she appeared even younger than before...years younger, oddly...but, still, the thought of her suffering from his rough handling chilled him.

Blushing scarlet and praying all present Weres were suddenly very hard of hearing, Cara whispered in Godric's ear, "Hush, you. Last night _was_ kind of...intense, but even if it hadn't been, it's been years since I had that particular kind of exercise, so I'd have been sore anyway. And even so I don't think some of those muscles have _ever_ been used before," she trailed off with a quiet feminine laugh.

Her breath caught at the look of pure, male satisfaction he gave her. Godric started an almost-silent purr as he scented her sudden arousal and the felt the spike in her heartbeat.

She ghosted her hands up his arms and rested her palms on his shoulders. Leaning up on her tiptoes, she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. She might have trailed her nose along his throat on the way back down.

She cleared her throat. "Anyway, thank you for the clothes, but that's way more than just a few changes." She laughed. "Where I come from, we call that a small wardrobe."

He shrugged negligently. "I am sure they will come in handy, yes?"

"Definitely, especially since someone magically knew exactly what sizes and colors and styles to get. Thank you," she repeated the phrase and kissed his other cheek.

He pulled her closer and claimed her lips for an impromptu proper kiss. Cara was mostly glad he kept it short considering they were in public.

As she pulled back, he asked, "What made you feel apprehensive earlier?"

She bit her lip as she tried to remember, which drew his focus to her mouth. A moment later, he smoothed his finger over her lower lip to ease it from between her teeth...which in turn trapped and lightly nipped his finger. His burning blue gaze flew to meet hers as his fangs elongated. There was no mistaking his deep growl when she lightly sucked on his fingertip before releasing it.

Her face reddened most delightfully. "You started it."

"Keep it up, ma petite, and I will gladly continue it." He loved her blushes and the sparkling humor and desire in her eyes. Well pleased with her willingness to not only accept his caresses in public but to initiate some love play of her own, he gathered her in his arms. He tucked her beautiful crimson, smiling face into his shoulder, firm in the belief that _his_ were the only eyes meant to see her thus.

It had taken all his determination to leave her bed just before sunrise that morning. Although he would have been safe in her quarters, he did not want to subject her to sleeping beside what, to all intents and purposes, amounted to a corpse during the day.

Plus, as much as he desired her physical companionship at all times, he knew she needed her space and time to come to terms with their relationship.

And...it gave her a chance to miss him. You cannot miss what is not gone.

He just was not so sure he could leave her bed again.

"Oh, I know what you're talking about!" She leaned back to look up at him. He raised his brow for her to continue. "I read your note."

A brief look of horror crossed his face. "My note caused you anxiety?"

"No, no, not at all," she hurriedly reassured him. "Ok, maybe a little," she decided to tease him a bit. "Your handwriting _is_ better than mine'll ever be..." she trailed off with a cheeky grin.

"Imp," he growled as he tickled his fingers up and down her sides a few times in retaliation. He loved when she laughed freely; it was a sound he wanted to hear often.

Gentle revenge accomplished, he held her close again and, completely ignoring the Weres (and a few vampires) grinning at their antics, asked her, "So, what was the problem?"

Still laughing, Cara decided to take pity on the ancient vampire and answered his question. "It was the thought that someone else had picked out clothes for me, that's all. In the past I have had some _horrendous_ experiences when other people bought clothes for me. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who prefers comfort over fashion," she ended with a shrug.

"But," she continued when she saw the concern on his face, "what's in that closet is _exactly_ what I would have chosen for myself, so...kudos to whoever selected it." She grinned up at him sweetly. "It's...all...perfect," she stated with a quick peck on his lips between each word.

More relieved than he cared to admit publically, and completely enthralled with her obvious affection, Godric simply stated, "I am glad to hear it."

Cara basked in the sweet, sexy joy shining from his eyes.

He placed a quick kiss to her forehead, then his face then became serious. "I have news regarding the Weres."

She looked up at him for a moment, then said, "Gimme a sec, ok? I need milk in my coffee and coffee in my tummy before bad news rises..." She trailed off with a grimace.

Godric snorted, then loosened his arms but kept on hand on her hip as she finished preparing her coffee. After downing a rather large sip, she sat the cup down, folded her arms about her waist, leaned against the counter, then proclaimed herself emotionally ready for whatever Were news he had.

Grinning slightly at her antics, he placed a hand on the counter on either side of her hips, and leaned in to speak very quietly.

"DesChamps said his trackers caught the scent of the two who escaped, and followed them to a house on the other side of the city. After Ryan and Alaric return from their errands, a group of us will...obtain...these Weres, and take them to a secure location."

He felt her fear spike, and thought he knew the cause. "Do not worry, ma petite. Most of the guards will remain here. You will not be left unprotected."

She shook her head. "It's you I'm worried about." She raised a hand to cup his cheek before she even realized what she was doing. "Don't get me wrong - I've seen you fight, but still. Those wolves are cracked!"

"Cracked?"

"Yeah, cracked, meaning crazy and unpredictable. There's something seriously wrong with them, at least that's how it seems to me," she whispered back.

He stared at her for a long minute, then turned his face to kiss her palm. "Come with me," he barely whispered.

She grabbed her cup and followed him into his study.

Instead of sitting down, he led her over to the farthest corner of the room, pulled her to him with hands on her hips, and leaned forward to whisper quietly in her ear, "I believe that is because they have been using V. Somehow vampire blood harms a Were's mind even worse than a human's. I smelled it first in Anderson's blood, and then last night in the wolves' blood." He leaned back just far enough to meet her shocked eyes.

Cara knew the widely-publicized negative side-effects of using V...she could only imagine how much worse it would be for Weres. Eyes wide, she placed her cup on a near-by table and rested her hands on Godric's chest. She mouthed into his ear, "So that means another vampire could be behind _all_ of this."

Godric nodded, his face serious.

"DesChamp's Weres?"

He shook his head and pointed to his nose. She nodded, her eyes never leaving his. "But...who would be so foolish?"

He simply shook his head. "Sadly, there are several. We will discuss this situation in more detail later. Secrecy is imperative." His gaze turned hot. "For now, however, we need to look as if we have been...busy."

Cool firm lips captured hers in a kiss as immediately passionate as any they had shared the night before. It wasn't long at all till Cara was pressed against the bookcase by the horny vampire pressing himself against her.

At first too surprised to do much, Cara slowly wound her arms around his waist and then, in sweet retaliation for the swiftness of his "attack", bluntly grabbed his high, firm ass...and pinched. At his startled laugh, Cara broke away and gasped for air as she grinned.

"So perhaps next time you would appreciate a bit of fair warning?"

She laughed. "Usually, but it's not necessary. I just like breathing, that's all."

"Ahhh, yes...you humans and your silly survival needs." He feigned aggravation, which was totally belied by the twinkling in his eyes as he stole a long series of quick, thorough kisses.

After a particularly ardent kiss, he reluctantly eased back from her and sighed. "Unfortunately I have business that I need to tend to this night and...Oh, I need to give you your first week's pay."

Using his natural speed, he went over to his desk and was back in front of Cara before she could even step a foot forward. He held out the check to her. She looked at the amount, and he frowned when she took a step back.

"Godric, I can't accept all that."

"Why?" He felt her reluctance, and found it curious. Humans and vampires both enjoyed financial recompense.

"Because _that_ is just way too much," she stated calmly.

"I do not understand." For a moment he looked truly bewildered. Then he regained his focus. "This is the amount we agreed upon, yes?"

Cara decided that he really did look kind of scary when he lowered his brows like that.

"Yes, we did but..."

He interrupted. "Then this _is_ the correct amount."

If he thought a scary face and a serious voice would resolve the situation, then he didn't know Cara.

She picked up her coffee cup instead of accepting the check. After taking a sip, she began. "Godric, you're absolutely right; that _is_ the amount we originally agreed upon. But that was _before_ I moved into your house, and _before_ I started eating your food and all the other stuff I use since I'm staying here. And it was certainly _before_ you had to buy me all those clothes. Today is also the second time I haven't even worked a full shift. I can't take your money when I haven't earned it."

He stood a little straighter. "First of all, I moved you in with me for your own safety. Not only do I owe you protection for saving my child's life, but I desire your presence in my home. This part of your case is now closed." He cocked his brow in just the right semi-arrogant angle. Cara had to smile behind her coffee cup.

Godric waited, obviously expecting an answer.

Cara snorted, then let her smile shine through. "Ok, ok, I'll grant you that. Next?"

Not doubting for a moment that he would win this argument, Godric inclined his head benevolently.

"As for your second objection, of course you eat here and use whatever facilities you desire. It would defy logic for you to do otherwise. I will see to all your needs, Cara, and food and clothing are simply the most basic. Correct?" He pinned her with his blue gaze.

Why did intractable arrogance have to come in such an attractive package, she mentally sighed. No matter how Cara thought about it, she couldn't fault his logic, but she still felt like she hadn't earned her paycheck. So, she would deflect him with honesty. Hey, sometimes it even worked.

"Godric, I just don't feel like I've done much to earn it, that's all." He started to speak, but she placed a finger over his lips.

"You've been absolutely wonderful to me, and I really do appreciate it. But there's no way I'm going to feel comfortable accepting that much money. And yes, I have a sneaking suspicion that you're rich as Croesus, but that is irrelevant to me. I want to be paid what I've earned, but _only_ what I've earned."

She jerked her finger back when he suddenly nipped it. He grinned wickedly.

"From my understanding I am actually rather more prosperous than Croesus was reported to be, but that is for another tale." As he pondered his next words, he felt a burst of happy excitement from Cara. It seemed she had a solution to this situation. Interested yet resigned, he raised his brow.

"I suspect you have an idea, yes?" He kissed her forehead, truly hoping he could accept this idea that had her so excited.

"Yes, I do. Hold onto that check till this time next week and I'll take it then. The way things are going I'm only going to be working about half-time anyway," she laughed. "This is only fair, you know."

"I know nothing of the sort, but if this arrangement pleases you, then so be it." His eyes twinkled just a little too much as he continued, "I shall simply compensate you in other ways."

Cara's jaw dropped. His devilish grin and flashing eyes told her she might have been better off just accepting the unearned money.

Her impending tirade was delayed by the ringing of Godric's phone.

Godric's face lit up at the perfect timing of the interruption as he answered the ring. The brief conversation was too fast for Cara to follow. He put his phone back in his pocket, wrapped his arm about her waist and, after handing her the coffee cup, walked her toward the study door.

Before opening it, he wrapped his hand around Cara's waist and whispered in her ear, "Ryan will return soon, but we still have to wait on Alaric." Then his lips covered hers in a short but extremely thorough kiss.

Godric kept his hand wrapped possessively around her waist as he walked her to the kitchen before rejoining Isabel in the den.

As Cara made herself another cup of coffee, she thanked Elise profusely for helping out...again. Elise stated quite firmly that she didn't mind kitchen duty one little bit, especially since the cold, rainy season had settled in with a vengeance. She did leave soon after the conversation, however, since her shift was over.

As Cara and the remaining female Were began the nightly clean-up ritual, she noticed Sarah glancing at her kiss-swollen lips with a smirk. Cara promptly stuck her tongue out at her causing them both to laugh.

Deciding to use the dishwasher instead of washing the dishes by hand as per usual cut the cleaning time in half, she told Sarah to go on over and check on Chad if she wanted.

Finally alone, Cara popped in her earphones and worked happily cleaning up the kitchen. The beautiful night sky caught her attention as she stood looking out the window in front of the sink. The dish cloth in her hands was soon forgotten as she gazed up at the twinkling heavens, watching for falling stars so she could wish for things that might make her happy.

She wished she knew what forever was, where it was and how to get there, but knew herself well enough to know it was an impossibility. Godric seemed to fit the description, but even with all his patience...

Feeling a certain someone's gaze, she schooled her features and stopped looking for wishing stars. She was just glad the Weres had eaten a bit neater than usual tonight.

Eventually Isabel wandered into the kitchen to visit for a bit. At some point Ryan had returned, but they were still waiting on Alaric's call, and so Isabel was getting restless. While Cara didn't blame her a bit, she herself was dreading the whole thing. Stupid psycho v-wolves.

Someone's phone rang, then about two minutes later she found herself being backed up against the kitchen wall. After an intensely thorough kissing and groping session, she had to wonder how her legs ended up around his waist as she slowly lowered her feet to the floor. Her memory was kind of hazy...maybe it was lack of oxygen?

While her face was flushed and her eyes were sparkling, he knew she was apprehensive on his behalf. Although he thought her worry wasted and adorable, he would never tell her so; that she cared enough to fret over him at all was a miracle.

"Ahh, ma petite, what do I have to do to take your worries away?" He was holding everyone up, but that could not have concerned him less. He did not often exercise the clout due his superior position, and besides, this was Cara.

"Either don't go, or come back really soon?" She rested her hands easily on his waist and tried to keep her tone light. Being overly-concerned about him, verbally at least, would imply she had little faith in his fighting ability. And while she knew beyond _any_ doubt that he could take care of himself and everyone else going with him, she also knew those Weres were insane and that "unplanned events" could happen.

"After we leave, take yourself a nice warm bath to relax, then try to sleep," he suggested. Opening her mouth to not quite agree, Godric quickly captured her lips in a deep, searing kiss, then raised his head slightly. He loved how her eyes would mist over and her face would flush from his kiss. He tried desperately not to notice the aroused spike to her scent.

"When I return, I will come find you."

"Yeah? You will?"

"Of course."

"Ooookay," she reluctantly agreed. "But you do have to leave them alive, ya know." Her eyes twinkled.

"I do? And why would this be, ma chere," he replied, happy to jest with her.

"So you can find out important stuff like who sent them and what their deal is," she over-patiently explained. She loved playing with him; he actually understood her humor.

"I do know of these things. You realize that I _am_ over 2100 years old..." He quirked that brow, his blue eyes gleaming with merriment and the promise of an upcoming battle.

"Which means you're really _too_ _old_ to go out fighting like this, right? You can barely move your body anymore. I mean, your eyesight can't be as good as it used to be, you surely can't hear as well as you used to, and your bones _have_ to be getting brittle by now..."

His fangs dropped and his eyes burned a bit brighter as he growled, "I will be _very_ glad to _show_ you _just_ how _well_ I move my body, Cara-mia..."

Cara just had to giggle at her own teasing. "Please be sure you do, Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast." She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close for a long minute as she relished his own tight embrace. Then she kissed his cheek, told him to be careful, and went back to the sink.

He was still growling lightly when they left.

Shortly thereafter, Cara finished up in the kitchen and went up to her rooms. After a bit of exploring, she located the clean linens and changed her sheets, then filled the tub for a nice long bubbly soak.

After she rolled up a small towel to cushion her head, Cara leaned back and luxuriated in the nice warm bath. Long, soaking baths had been a treat before moving in with Godric...she stalled out on that thought. Had she really _moved in_ with him? She guessed she must have, considering that she and all her boxed-up stuff were in his house. She wondered if she'd be able to go to her apartment tomorrow and rescue her poor mostly-dead plants. Woah...where did that thought come from? Realizing that she had, at some point, indeed moved in with the ancient vampire must have fried her circuits.

There was so much she didn't know about him. Hell, there was so much he didn't know about her. They'd barely spent any time together, and what time they _had_ spent together, well, their mouths were too busy doing other things to talk.

She had to admit that _if_ a great relationship were based _solely_ on sex, they'd be great together, no questions asked.

But sex, no matter how earth-shattering, was just dessert to the "main meal" of a great relationship. She understood that things were by nature different with vampires, though. They were only awake during the dark hours of the night, which really cut down on time to spend talking or just hanging out...things that brought humans slowly closer together and gave them a solid foundation.

Everything seemed to move so fast in vampire time because they had so little daily...nightly...time to spend on any one thing. On the one hand, she couldn't believe she'd fallen into bed with him so damn fast, but on the other hand, it just seemed so...natural. Perfect. She certainly didn't want to hit rewind and go back to _not_ being with him.

Although he hadn't said the words, she knew that he'd "claimed" her, whatever that _actually_ meant. She knew she should ask for a much more thorough explanation of the whole thing, but...she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. Knowing would probably make leaving so much harder than it already would be. He was so damn cute with the tips of his fangs peeping out between his lips. Damn sexy vampire beast.

She hrumphed and decided to get out of the tub before she turned into a prune.

After drying off and lotioning up, she chose the pretty pink lacy sleep set with the thin shoulder straps and short shorts. She decided to put an alarm clock on her shopping list, and drifted off to sleep wondering how Godric was doing with the v-wolves.

Several hours later, a freshly-showered Godric quietly slid under the covers and took a sleeping Cara in his arms, and smiled in satisfaction when she immediately slid her arms around him as she nuzzled into his chest and sighed in her sleep.

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***Well...how do you think their relationship is progressing? I'm planning some lemon pie, or maybe a bit of lemon tart?, for the next chapter. What do y'all think?**

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	30. Chapter 30

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: See Ch. 1's "Author's Note".

****Here's an early Christmas gift for all you lemon-lovers. Enjoy!****

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 30~**

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**(...*slurp*...)**

"Why're you dressed," a very sleepy voice mumbled against Godric's chest. Cara's hand lightly skimmed down his side until she felt the waistband of his cargo pants. She made a sound of displeasure. "Shouldn't wear pants to bed..mumble...be torture to try to sleep in pants."

Godric was not sure how to tell his sleepy lover that if he were not in the despised pants, he would be in her, instead. Not that they afforded that much protection, he thought as his cock reacted instantly to the combined intoxications of her warm, sleepy scent, her lightly searching hands and the soft thrumming of her heartbeat. His fangs were already aching to drop.

Suddenly Cara gave a big stretch and drew back enough to look up into his face. "How'd it go," she asked as she slid her hands up his chest.

"I apologize, ma petite. I did not mean to wake you," he replied, trying to ignore her thumbs lightly skimming over his nipples. She shrugged off his apology, obviously waiting for him to answer her question. "We obtained our objective without undue interference."

Her relief showed on her sleep-softened face as she lifted her lips for his kiss. Without even a first thought he captured her lips with his. Her hands circled his waist as he rolled her under him and the slow, gentle "glad to be home" kiss soon escalated into something much more heated.

He braced himself above her with one arm near her shoulder and explored her barely-clad thigh for a moment until he hitched it around his waist. She mewed her pleasure when his hips started rocking in time with the thrusts of his tongue in her mouth.

Although extremely pleased with her response, he had not meant to mate with her this night. He wanted to give her time to heal from the soreness of his last passion spent between her thighs. Never before had he had such little self-control with a lover. But this was no ordinary lover; this was his Cara, and he would protect her even from himself.

However, he would still give her intense pleasure. He slowly broke their kiss to lean up a bit to gaze down into her hazy eyes. With heated devilry in his burning blue eyes, he dipped his head to trail wet, nipping kisses along her throat to her collarbone, down across the edge of her camisole-style top.

Without pause he hooked a fang into the silky material and ripped it completely in two. He chuckled at her startled gasp and immediately sucked a nipple into his mouth when the two sides parted. Long torturous moments later he switched and began suckling her other nipple as his fingers started rolling and pulling on the moist, abandoned one.

The scent of her arousal combined with her gasps and cries of pleasure were severely straining his control. When his blood told him that she could bear no more, he leaned up to his knees between her legs to shred her sleep shorts into tiny pieces. He had her thighs spread wide and her hips lifted into position before she even registered her sudden nudity.

He waited until he was sure Cara knew exactly what he was about to do before parting her slick lips gently with his thumbs. She cried out at his first slow, teasing lick from back to front. By his third pass, she was writhing and he had to hold her hips still against her bucking.

Suddenly content to spend the rest of his nights pleasuring her with his tongue, Godric could not believe his luck. Her dark curls were neatly groomed, her feminine scent was sweetly intoxicating, and her taste was truly divine. As his tongue worked and flicked and teased and probed, he groaned as he realized she tasted better than the finest blood he had ever consumed...except for her own.

Sensing that she was nearing her climax, he tongued her clit harder and faster until her whole body seized and bucked in pleasure. He immediately lifted his head and used his hand to gently soothe her until she calmed back down.

Then he did it again.

And again.

By the time Cara approached her fourth orgasm, her shattered mind was convinced that not only was Godric some sort of tongue maestro, but that he actually _liked_ going down on her. His groans and hums of pleasure as he licked her folds and sucked on her clit were the sexiest sounds she could imagine...and the vibrations certainly added to the intensity.

She screamed and almost shot up off the bed as her forth orgasm suddenly stuck. His strong, firm hands holding onto her hips were her only tethers to sanity. Minutes later she was still panting, sweaty and trembling and barely able to clasp his head to her breast after he'd kissed and nipped his way back up her body.

Still kneeling between her spread thighs, Godric leaned back to gaze down at Cara. He felt an almost feral sense of satisfaction from knowing he had so thoroughly pleasured his mate. Her flushed cheeks, hazy eyes, and languid body gave tribute to his expertise, while her sweet, shy smile bathed his heart in joy.

His cock throbbed so hard he was shocked he had not yet cum in his pants.

Cara shrugged out of her ruined sleep top, then reached her hand out to touch his chest, but his firm negation stopped her. Confused, she looked up at him, taking in his dilated eyes and elongated fangs.

"If you touch me now, I am liable to ride you through this mattress," he growled succinctly, "and you need at least this night to recover from our last times together."

Somehow she could sense that he was very serious about letting her "recover" from last night, but still...that huge bulge in his pants wasn't going down any time soon.

"Maybe I could do the same thing for you that you just did for me?" She didn't want to be crass, but she definitely did want to return the favor.

His pained groan as he threw back his head slightly alarmed her...and answered her question...in the negative.

"Later...definitely later, ma chere...but I would not have the patience just now to enjoy it."

"Well, ok then...it's painfully obvious that you need relief, too, sweetheart, so why don't you take yourself in hand...and let me watch," she suggested breathlessly as she peeped up at him through her lashes.

He hissed as his body went rigid. "You want...to watch me..."

"No, I want to do it for you, but I'll accept watching you pleasure yourself if that's the best I can get."

She bit her lip in anticipation of watching him pleasure himself, and her nipples tightened painfully. The look of aggressive male need on his hard face made every feminine part she had clench in response. She spread her legs just a bit wider.

Nostrils flaring, blue eyes blazing, he ripped his shirt off then tore the zipper to his pants. His massive erection sprang free with a flourish. A large pinkish drop of pre-cum already moistened the tip of his cock.

Eyes fastened on Cara as she braced herself up on her elbows, Godric wrapped his hand around his huge hard cock and gave himself a couple of quick, light strokes. To Cara's surprise, he suddenly dipped his hand between her slick folds to collect some of her moisture. He then grabbed his cock again, and stroked hard and fast and firm, over and over, until with a roar he finally came in great, thick ropes on her stomach.

Spent, he toppled forward and barely managed to land mostly to her side. She stroked his hair for long, tender moments before he collected himself enough to use his torn shirt to clean himself off Cara's stomach.

Eventually he managed to remove his pants and clear the bed of their torn clothing. He arranged himself around Cara then covered them up with the sheet and comforter.

"Thank you," he said quietly as he held her closer.

"For what," she questioned drowsily as she nuzzled her face against his chest.

He softly kissed her temple. "For being you."

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****Let me know if you liked your early gift! Merry Christmas!****

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	31. Chapter 31

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**HAPPY FREAKIN' NEW YEAR EVERYONE! **

**HERE'S HOPING THAT ALL OF YOUR BEST WISHES COME HAPPILY (AND LEGALLY) TRUE IN 2013!**

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 31~**

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**(Bacon...)**

Cara woke up alone...again. As she cuddled Godric's pillow to her chest and inhaled his scent, she realized that she _missed_ him. That didn't make any sense to her since she'd be seeing him in a couple of hours at the very most. Of course, she had no way of knowing _exactly_ how long it'd be since that same rotten vampire had taken the alarm clock.

She chuckled as she rolled over onto her back. She had to give him credit - he was right not to have actual intercourse last night. But, while she enjoyed _not_ being sore, she felt like something was missing. Even as relaxed and sated as she was, something nagged at her.

At first it made no sense. They'd both had their satisfaction. Granted, he'd given her much..._much_...pleasure many times - she flushed at the vivid memories - and he'd even given himself a release, too. That was a memory she hoped she'd never forget. Watching him pleasure himself had to be one of the most oddly arousing, intimate sex acts she could have ever have imagined.

In retrospect she thought she might should have been embarrassed that she'd even suggested it to him, but at that particular moment, considering his weird reluctance to let her go down on him, it just made sense. He had obviously gotten off, and she'd certainly enjoyed watching him.

But, still. _Something_ had been missing. Maybe it was the actual penetration part, she wondered as she finally got up to go to the bathroom.

While she was in the shower she negated that thought, and wondered if instead it was the lack of conversation. There hadn't been a lot of talking last night.

No, she realized as she looked at the too-clean sheets, it wasn't the lack of conversation. It was the lack of biting.

_Why_ hadn't he bitten her? Did he refrain due to consideration, or did he just not want to? She couldn't shake that thought as she finished dressing. It didn't help that there wasn't a note either.

She also wondered why it seemed to bother her that he _hadn't_ bitten her. Less than a week ago she'd have slapped the fire out of any vampire trying to bite her, and now, here she was, actually having hurt feelings because one _didn't_ bite? She shook her head, confused with her own self. Coffee. She definitely needed coffee.

Soon she discovered that she hadn't slept nearly as long today as yesterday. Sarah and Elise were just cleaning up the kitchen from lunch when she entered and tossed them a wave. The Weres laughed when Cara tackled the coffee machine. Cara just stuck out her tongue at them and mumbled something she hoped was appropriate.

About ten minutes after she sat down at the table to adore her coffee, Sarah plopped a plate of toast and scrambled eggs in front of her.

Cara backed up and wrinkled her nose. "What's this?"

"Blame your ancient honey-bun. I'm under strict instructions to see that you eat more often. I figured something plain and simple like toast and scrambled eggs would be less disgusting for you first thing after you wake up. So, there...have at it."

"Can we don't and say we did," Cara whined. There was nothing at all wrong with the food except...it was food. "I really hate trying to eat when I first get up."

"That what I told him when he called at five o'clock this morning, but he stressed that he really wanted you to try."

"Hrumph." Both Weres laughed as she eyeballed the offensive eggs and toast.

"It sounds like he worries for you," Elise quietly stated.

Cara eventually caved, and soon enough the toast was gone. No one mentioned the eggs.

While downing her second cup of coffee, she wondered what to have for supper. So far, all the meals had been delicious and fairly healthy, but rather conventional. After a small discussion, they decided to serve "breakfast for supper" that evening, and made an appropriate grocery list.

After arranging with her guards to go shopping, Cara proceeded to make her own list of incidentals. Deodorant, Pamprin, pads and tampons for her quickly-approaching time of the month, lip balm to replace the tube that had mysteriously disappeared somewhere between her purse and her mouth, and several other items filled out her list. She started to add an alarm clock, but figured that was his game, and she would let him play it.

An hour and a half later, her bags were in her quarters and the kitchen was filled with bacon, sausage, eggs, grits, apple butter, grape jelly, strawberry preserves, and frozen biscuits since Cara refused to insult "her eaters" with her own ugly biscuits.

Knowing how long it takes to fry bacon the "right" way, Cara and Sarah started cooking supper earlier than usual.

Eventually the sun started to set, and she was impatient for Godric to appear. She wished she had that innate vamp-sense to tell her exactly when the sun set so she could time her impatience better.

Cara had just put the second batch of biscuits in the oven to bake, and had started the second pan of bacon frying, when she remembered that there was another baking sheet somewhere in the kitchen. While she didn't actually _need_ it, it bugged her that she couldn't immediately remember where it was. She decided to save her back from a long bending session and got down on her hands and knees to search under the cabinets when she felt the tell-tale swoosh of her approaching vampire.

She glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, Godric was there...very much appreciating the sight of her on her hands and knees before him. She blushed and rolled her eyes...then wiggled her ass invitingly.

He snickered and did not bother hiding the growing bulge in his pants.

Cara set the just-discovered baking sheet up on the counter and turned around to find herself face-to-face with his expanding groin. Momentarily stunned by the desire to take him into her mouth right then and there, she finally sat back on her heels and looked up at him.

Even though his eyes burned with desire and his fangs were extended, Godric simply leaned down and picked her up by her waist. She was slightly disappointed when he didn't toss her over his shoulder and...

"Well good morning, Godric. Did you sleep well?" She knew it was a rhetorical question, but still, niceties counted.

"Quite well, thank you for asking. And you," his question was muffled against her throat as he kissed and nibbled slowly up to her jaw.

She laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I slept fine, but honey, I do need the alarm clock back."

"Uh-uh," he negated, now nuzzling her ear. "You will wake when you are rested, ma chere, not when a noisy machine commands you to do so."

Not actually finding fault with his logic, Cara ran her fingers through his hair and tilted his head just enough to claim his lips. His resulting growl of appreciation rumbled through them both.

Suddenly remembering their audience, she leaned back just enough to break the kiss and asked Godric if he wanted her to heat him up a blood.

He grimaced and shook his head...then went back to nuzzling the crook of her neck.

She giggled. "That tickles!"

A devilish look came over his handsome, young face just before he ran his fingers lightly up and down her sides. "If that tickles, then what is this?"

Cara yelped and tried to dance away but ...somehow... ended up gyrating her butt into his crotch. She smirked when he hissed in reaction.

A moment later Isabel and Scott entered the den, and Cara quickly disentangled herself from Godric's strong arms. Trying to pretend she wasn't blushing six hues of red, she grabbed the bag on the counter and walked toward the female vampire while calling her name.

"Here, I saw these at the store and thought you might like them." She passed the bag over to Isabel and turned back to check on the biscuits, and missed the shock on her face.

Isabel slowly opened the bag; she wasn't used to anyone except her Maker giving her anything. Her face lit up as she quickly took out the three items.

"You remembered that I like crossword puzzles?" She was truly touched that Cara would remember something she'd mentioned once, and only in passing.

"Sure! I hope you like them," Cara replied, pleased that her friend seemed to like her gift. Now that the second pan of biscuits was done, she readied a third pan. Weres really seemed to like their baked goods.

Just as soon as she was finished, she found herself wrapped in the cool arms of a smiling female vampire.

"Thank you my beautiful human friend!" With that, Isabel happily dashed off to her rarely-used-these-days private quarters in the mansion.

Cara blushed and started frying the sausage, and left the grits to Sarah. All that constant stirring was really annoying.

Godric had rested against the counter out of the way of the food preparations and enjoyed watching the interactions between Cara and the others.

Her gift to his child surprised him; humans did not usually give things to vampires unless they expected something much more in return. They usually wanted to be given things simply for existing. But, not his Cara, who had already refused his check on the grounds of, among other things, not having earned it yet. He had reluctantly agreed to hold her check back for a week, but he had gained her unintended permission to give her things in exchange for the reduced compensation. He already had Beck researching several items.

A few minutes later Scott entered the kitchen to heat up a bottle of blood. When he joined Godric at the counter, the ancient vampire stiffened and kept an eye on him. Scott was an excellent vampire, exemplary, really...but one could never be too careful with one's mate. Soon Godric's patience waned and, at his low growl, Scott quickly finished his blood and went to his own office.

He focused his attention back onto the human who meant so much to him. His Cara, he decided, was a natural if unintentional leader. While she never raised her voice, or even spoke firmly, he had noticed how she directed the cooking activities with as much timing and precision as any commander on a field of battle. She was inherently graceful, as well, almost dancing between checking on the contents of the oven and the frying food on the stove, all the while gathering items for use in the near future, while Sarah stood almost constantly stirring two huge pots of some bubbling grain product.

Finally Cara took pity on Sarah and relieved her of the pot-stirring duty while Sarah tended the bacon and biscuits, then took a well-deserved break. Elise set the table and arranged the jars of condiments and plates of butter set out to soften.

Cara's sudden jerk brought Godric to her side instantly. The thickening grits in one of the pots had bubbled up and splattered on her wrist that should have resulted in a nasty red burn. He noted that she showed no other reaction to the pain the burn must have inflicted and instead simply licked the offending material off her wrist and continued stirring.

"Your wrist...does that not hurt?"

Sarah had noticed the commotion and immediately came to take charge of the pots.

Cara looked up in surprise as she stepped a few feet away when she saw Sarah ready to take over. "No, not really," she replied, then laughed, "not unless I think about it at any rate."

Godric frowned and shook his head as he held her hand out for his inspection. "I saw how red your skin was. I know that had to hurt."

"Well, it didn't feel good, but see? It's ok now." She pointed to her wrist, and sure enough, what should have been a large bright red burn was a smaller, indistinct, fading pink area. "I'm used to getting burnt when I'm cooking. I bet I've got seven or eight little bitty places where hot bacon grease jumped out of the pan all over my hands, but they're fine."

On closer inspection, Godric noted every place she meant. "Fifteen. I count fifteen small burns on your hands, yet not one of them looks...burnt. How is this possible?"

She laughed. "It's mind over matter, I guess. If I'd actually paid attention when they happened, then they probably _would_ have turned red, and that place there," she pointed to a slightly pinker area on the back of her hand, "might even have blistered, but since I basically ignored it when it happened, it mostly went away."

Godric's face was a mixture of amazement and concern. Cara reached up and patted his cheek. "It's ok, honey. It doesn't always work this way, and I have been burnt before, of course, but with little spots like this, it's pretty easy to ignore them, which seems to make them go on away rather than hanging out and hurting."

"So this is not a result of my blood," he asked.

"Nope, it's always been this way, more or less."

"What about other types of injury?"

"Cuts hurt," she stated firmly. "And they tend to get really sore, like I guess cuts would for anyone else. Don't worry, any burn pain I don't feel, I more than make up for in other ways," she said with more feeling than perhaps she intended.

"What do you mean?" Godric did not like the idea of Cara hurting.

Surprised at the seriousness in his voice, she just shrugged. "I hurt, like everyone does, that's all." She glanced at the clock. "Well, if Sarah's on grits duty, then I need to finish up the rest of the stuff so I can make a vat of gravy then scramble about three dozen eggs here in a few minutes."

The look he gave her told her their discussion was not finished. She just kissed his cheek and grabbed the bag of flour. Country gravy was her specialty and she couldn't wait to get started on the first pan of it.

"Breakfast for supper" was a huge success. Sarah ended up frying another pan of bacon and Cara made two more pans of gravy. When the Weres finally left the table, they had put away so much food that she truly wondered how they could possibly walk.

Godric kept an eye on his woman from the den where he and the rest of his retinue planned their upcoming Were interrogation. He was both pleased and intrigued with Cara's actions. She dealt so well with the Weres, especially now that Anderson was no longer walking. According to the comments from previous meals and from today, and the amount of food that always disappeared, she was an excellent cook.

The Weres certainly enjoyed her light sense of humor, even though she maintained an appropriate distance between herself and the males. He was pleased to note that none, however, made the mistake of disrespecting her or becoming overly familiar with her as Anderson had.

He strongly suspected that if he had not already claimed her, that after _this_ dinner in particular, several of the Weres would have seriously considered vying for her attentions. Hell, he knew they would have even before now...which was the main reason he refused to leave the estate until _after_ the dinner hour.

While he knew she would ever be the kind of person to cheat, he was still strongly aware that they had yet to have any sort of real discussion about their relationship. He knew well what was expected from his side, but he was not sure what she expected of him, or what she would be comfortable giving. She needed to be made clearly aware of what was expected of her as the mate of a powerful, respected, reluctantly political vampire.

These discussions needed to happen very soon.

Tonight, however, they needed to "interview" two captured Weres. His fangs ran out in anticipation.

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***Here's a small update to hopefully tide y'all over into the new year. In the meantime, check out my "one shot that might grow": The Revealing of Andre (******** /s/8820574/1/The-Revealing-of-Andre ** IF the link will show here, otherwise, click my profile). And, as always: Review! Review! Review! 

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	32. Chapter 32

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

***My muses are hilarious little snots. They've decided to IMAGINATION: ACTIVATE! - in the middle of an unusually strong allergy attack. And on a related note, guess who's suddenly allergic to blue cheese... I really hope this chapter makes sense. If not, blame the (****blue cheese)**** muses.***

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 32~**

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**(What's in a name?)**

Cara watched from the kitchen as Godric and the other vampires left to "interrogate" the captured Weres. She'd known he was watching her all evening, even during the final dinner preparations, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Like any home, people tended to gather in the kitchen, especially when food was being prepared. Cara and Sarah both enjoyed the additional company so long as they stayed out of the way. Scott had even acted like he wanted to hang out with them all, but after a few minutes had suddenly left. She had a sneaking suspicion that an ancient vampire was directly responsible for his vanishing act.

She rolled her eyes to herself. She didn't understand his weird possessive streak, but figured it must have something to do with the whole "vampire wants to keep his feed and fuck source all to himself" agenda. It wasn't like he bothered sleeping with her in the vampire-safe, light-tight room she was in, or really even talked with her any more. Granted, they'd been kind of busy, but still.

Fucking PMS. With _her_ luck she'd start crying just any second simply because he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye to her personally. But it did seem like he _could_ have, she groused to herself. If he could find time to prop up the counter in the kitchen while she was preparing dinner, and then hang out in the den obviously eavesdropping on everything that went on while the guards were eating, then for fuck's sake, he could have at least given her a kiss goodbye.

"Cara?" Sarah sounded like she'd been trying to get her attention.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong? I've been talking to you for five minutes and I don't think you've heard a word I said."

"Sorry. I'm in my own little world, but at least they know me there. What's up?"

"I was just wondering what you wanted to do with these leftovers?"

"How about I make me a plate for tomorrow afternoon's breakfast, and you take the rest with you?"

"Sounds good. Now, what's wrong?"

"Eh, nothing, not really. Just PMS'ing and re-evaluating my entire existence, that's all."

Cara was glad when Sarah laughed as intended, hoping she'd just drop it. It wasn't like she could discuss her concerns about her relationship, or lack thereof, with the Were. Well, she supposed that technically she could, but it didn't feel right to since Godric was _the_ supe boss in the area.

It wasn't like she could discuss him with anyone, she realized as she was making her future breakfast plate. It was incredibly demoralizing to realize that she literally had no one she could confide in about any of the things that really mattered.

She'd thought that since Godric was so easy to talk to, that he might could have become a really good, close friend, but apparently _that_ wasn't going to happen. He was rarely around, and when he was, he was busy with work, with trying to solve the Were problem, or there were too many other people around, or...he was busy fucking her. Sexing, but not talking. Granted what they did together was so incredibly much more than simple sex, but still. Some damn conversation would be lovely, too.

Had the man, erm, vampire never heard of holding hands before? A damn, simple hug once in a while would be nice, too, damn it.

Fucking PMS.

"Cara?"

"What," she snapped.

"Seriously, are you ok?" Sarah _knew_ something was wrong.

"PMS."

"Oh. OH. Oh my God...vampires..."

Cara laughed at the look on Sarah's face. "Erm, yeah, that's probably gonna be a problem. But, I've got tampons _and_ pads, so I'll be as covered as possible, so maybe it won't be such an issue. Sorry if I'm kinda bitchy for the next few days, though."

"It's ok, I totally understand. Female Weres like me tend to have lots of female problems, so I really do get it. Supposedly the effects aren't quite so bad if you lay off the caffeine, though..."

Sarah unwisely laughed at Cara's growl.

It took surprisingly less time to clean up after supper than they anticipated, so Sarah left to go home, and Cara decided a nice, long soak in that gorgeous tub in her gorgeous bathroom was definitely in order.

As she relaxed in the delightfully warm water, she mentally reviewed her association with Godric. She wasn't even sure she could call it an actual relationship. They had sex and he drank her blood and in her self-pitying mood, that seemed like the entire...association. They fucked, and she fed him. Sometimes. He watched her fix food, then later he'd slip into her room, and they'd fuck, and then he'd bite her, sometimes.

She knew she was being unfair to him...she truly didn't expect him to be "perfect", but, still. That nagging feeling she woke up with was still...nagging away.

Something was missing, but she didn't know exactly what. She suspected it was more than just whether or not he bit her during their insanely good sexathons.

Fucking Godric and PMS were going to drive her insane.

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

Godric thought the "interview" with the Weres had revealed precious little information of value, although he had been very impressed with his child's tactics and inventiveness. Isabel could proudly claim successful vengeance upon her tormentors. His chest swelled with delight in his child.

Unfortunately the entire information-gathering process was brought to a rather abrupt halt when the duller-looking Were, named Silas according to his identification, thought to insult Cara. If that Were had been praying for a quicker death, though, his plan failed miserably. He might have figured that out when he saw his ripped-out tongue wriggling on the floor in front of his bleeding feet. He did not deserve to even think her name, much less allow it to touch his tongue. Godric particularly enjoyed cauterizing the wound he had inflicted. The Were would not be allowed the luxury of bleeding to death just yet.

Godric thought he should have been dismayed, or even surprised, at how quickly his pacifist nature reverted into angry vengeance, but he just could not bring himself to care. That the wolf even _knew_ her name said more than the creature intended.

Thankfully the other Were, Tobias, had been unconscious during that particular session, and knew nothing of his brother's verbal indiscretion. He was removed to another sound-proof location for further discussions to resume the following night. Godric hoped he could tease, taunt, torture, whichever, more useful information from him if the two were separated and did not know the extent of the information his brother had spilled.

His instincts were telling him that there was much more going on than he had yet discovered. That pack chose to attack his child for reasons still unknown. They must also have had contact with someone close to him to even know of Cara's name.

All the Weres serving on the estate had signed powerful non-disclosure agreements, and DesChamps had gone a step further and authorized the glamouring of all of them to prevent them from discussing or revealing anything concerning their duties with anyone other than themselves, and then only when on the property itself. Godric was the only one who could bypass any part of the extensive glamour.

The leak had to have come from someone else...most likely someone who was not a Were. That left only another vampire. A vampire who had also been supplying the now-decimated Were pack with V either as payment for services rendered, or as incentive to do his bidding. This was much bigger than either a simple vendetta against either him or his child.

Godric paced in frustration.

When they had returned to their separate resting places from their mission, he had come home and taken a thorough shower after throwing away his Were-soiled clothing. Finally, then, he could join Cara for the few remaining hours before sunrise.

His satisfied smile reflected his pleasure at their resulting joining.

She had been wearing a simple sleeping gown, and nothing else. He had removed his pajama bottoms before crawling under the covers and curling up against her soft warmth. The sweet scent of her body in slumber permeated his senses and replaced the last of his fury with an almost hypnotic need for the peace he found only in her small frame.

A few moments later she turned to him, nuzzling her face into his chest as her hands made their slow, sleepy way around his waist. It was only as he ran his hand up her thigh, then back down to her knee to pull her leg over his hip, that she began to wake up.

He would have gladly left her to her sleep, but the encounter with the Were, hearing her name pass his lips, had caused his blood to boil. The instinctive urge to touch his mate, to know of her safety and good health by feeling her alive and moving under him, was a need he knew he could not ignore, a need he could barely delay as long as he had. He had to know she was well, safe, and his in the oldest way possible.

She had barely opened her mouth to speak when his lips crushed hers with overwhelming passion. This was not a night for words, he thought as he rolled her under his weight. He definitely needed to speak with her about so many pressing matters, but the remaining hours of this night would be spent speaking in a different language. When she needed to breathe he nipped at her lips a long moment before delving his tongue back into her mouth, mimicking the motion his body so desperately craved.

When she parted her thighs to accept his weight, he quickly settled himself into the cradle of her feminine heat and reveled in her encouraging moans at his teasing movements. She clutched at his shoulders as he nipped and kissed his way down from her neck across her throat to the deep V of her gown.

He braced his weight on one hand and used the other to rip the gown to free her nipples. He immediately latched onto one, sucking it deep into his mouth and rubbing it with his tongue until he had to still her bucking hips with his firm hands.

Godric shifted his weight to pounce onto her other nipple and began rolling it between his lips. He lowered his hand to her center and groaned to find her so wet for him. He immediately plunged two fingers inside her and pumped in and out in an increasingly hard, frantic rhythm determined to make her cum at least once before mounting her. The growing intensity of her gasps and moans when his thumb started rubbing her clit told him he would not have to wait long.

He was fascinated as he watched her pleasure building. She was gasping and moaning, clutching at his shoulders and rolling her head side to side, her dark hair loosely spread over the pillows. He thought she was never more beautiful than now with her cheeks and lips flushed, her eyes a deeper, darker brown than usual, her nipples a rosier pink from his attentions.

Finally! As she screamed his name and shuddered all over, he rose to his knees and lifted her hips and immediately drove his full, thick length ball-deep into her hot, wet center. It took everything he had to remain still long enough for her to adjust to his size...and then he started thrusting, slow at first, then faster, harder, until he reached a furious pace. The sight of her breasts bouncing with every thrust and her sharp cries of pleasure spurred him on until they both came hard.

Still sheathed in her tight core, he eased himself down to cover her limp, damp body. He was certain his eyes were burning blue when he met her slightly dazed gaze. This time when he captured her lips he kissed slower, a little gentler, twining his tongue with hers while savoring the taste of her desire and the scent of him on her. He relished the feeling of her warm arms holding him close and the way she would kiss and bite at his neck when he would pause to let her breathe.

Long moments later he started thrusting again, slower, easier, trying to show her with his body just how dear she was to him as he captured her gaze with his. She wrapped her legs around his hips and held him tight as she matched his every movement. Still, as slow and easy as he drove their mating, it was only a short time later that her hands clawed into his shoulders and her teeth clamped down on his shoulder as she came hard again. He growled out her name at the pleasure of her bite, and it was all he could do to move just in time to keep her teeth from puncturing his skin.

He hissed as the memory of that filthy Were saying her name drove him to roughly turn her over onto her hands and knees. Cara yelped then groaned in pleasure when, in one quick motion, he positioned himself and slammed into her, riding her smooth and hard and fast all the while chanting her name over and over until he could hold back no longer. He leaned over her and, still pounding hard, braced one hand under her shoulder. He swept her hair to the side and struck quick, his painless bite to her neck sending Cara screaming over the edge as her body shuddered in time with his deep, long pulls.

Suddenly he tensed and jerked, then came with a great, feral roar. Finally sated in body and soul, he gathered his Cara close as he listed sideways, falling gently to the bed with his woman safe in his arms. He could not seem to get enough of her, he thought, as his free hand kept stroking her side, thigh, arm and breast while she kept nuzzling his arm serving as her pillow.

A while later, after her heartbeat and breathing had both slowed down, Cara stretched then wiggled to free herself from his arms. He reluctantly let her go when she mentioned her human needs, and watched her walk from the bed to the bathroom. He realized she would undoubtedly be sore on the morrow unless he tended to her soon.

Impatiently he listened as she ran water and washed, then she unfolded a towel and dried herself, then he heard her brushing her teeth... Finally she returned to him, eyes still misty, body still warm from exertion, his scent still on and in her body in a way she could never wash away.

After she climbed back under the covers, he had her roll onto her back. When he folded the covers back she started to speak, no doubt going to ask him what he was doing, but for some reason Godric did not want to break the silent spell soothing the room, so he simply kissed her quiet, dropped his fangs, and ripped a long cut in his finger. He parted her thighs and inserted his bleeding finger deep inside her, spreading his healing blood in her most intimate places to heal her of any possible damage his passion might have caused.

When he was finished tending to his mate he covered them both back up, curled her up in his arms, and simply held onto her. The scent of their joining, the warmth of his Cara in his arms, the quiet in his one-sided bond with her, and the sounds of her breathing and heart beating soothed the beast angered by the Weres and plots surrounding them.

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****PMS, for non-English readers, = Pre-Menstrual Syndrome, ie: that crying/cramping/"bitchy"/head-achy/OMG LIFE FUCKING SUCKS! time of the month just before a female starts her period. **

******I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to read and review my story. I really appreciate your time, interest, and patience! So...what'ja think?****

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	33. Chapter 33

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**(Still allergic, btw...and my muses are making the MOST of it, too!)**

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 33~**

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**(Women, Weres, and WTF?)**

In some instances, Godric found he missed the old ways. Granted, he loved the new comforts technology had given everyone, and the freedoms earned by women, the education that allowed their minds to grow and expand, the careers and adventures that allowed their souls to explore and develop. He appreciated that men and women were every bit as strong and smart as each other, just in different, compatible, ways.

In older days, everything seemed so much more urgent, though, and common people just did not have time or energy to explore "roles" or dream of large castles in the sky. Their time and energy were spent trying not to die for yet another day.

To that end, men fought, hunted food, protected the land and the animals and the women. The women bore and tended the children, cooked the food, wove the cloth, and did numerous other things to ensure the survival of the family. Outside the home, men were in charge. Inside the home, women were in charge if the men were smart enough to know what was good for them. It was a simple, well-defined way to survive. Life was hard for everyone, although no one knew that. It was just "life" to them.

Oddly enough, even though life was so incredibly hard and tenuous, things were much simpler then than now. Although Godric held a firm appreciation for modern conveniences and comfort, there was no denying that every year that passed brought even more hoops to have to jump through...more hurdles to cross...more paperwork to fill out... None of the inconveniences of modern convenience existed back then.

In retrospect, considering just how hard all other aspects of life were in the past, Godric wondered how anyone survived to carry on the next generation. But the way he was feeling this day, there was one major aspect of the old ways he truly missed.

Kidnapping was not nearly as frowned-upon back then.

**o~*~*~*~*~*~o~*~*~*~*~*~o**

When he rose in his chambers that afternoon, he knew something was off. At first he was not sure of the source, just an innate knowledge that something was wrong. He heated his bloods and drank them while he checked the security monitors. The guards were patrolling as usual, so the threat was not external. He switched to the internal systems, and noted Mark roaming the interior of the house while Elise was staying in range of her charge moving about in the kitchen, and nothing seemed off there, either.

Until he focused on Cara.

There was a mask of pleasantry on her face, her shoulders were tense, her eyes hard. Sarah was eyeing her warily from the other side of the kitchen, and Elise was surreptitiously keeping an eye on her from the dining area.

Had someone said or done something to upset her? What could have happened? Godric cursed the hours till the sun set. He needed to know what had happened to so anger? upset? his Cara.

Then he realized that he could not feel her.

Somehow, she had managed to close the small bond between them. All he could sense was that she lived.

This would not do. How had she managed to close the bond? There was no way she should have been _able_ to.

He felt his dead heart clinch. _Why_ would she want to do such a thing?

He heard Elise speak as she moved into the kitchen. "Well, what do you think they're going to do now that they've caught Isabel's attackers?"

Cara jerked her head up. "I wouldn't know, honey," her voice was hard. "You'll have to ask someone who's actually important enough to be told things like that."

_What?_

Cara continued. "I doubt y'all will be around much longer, though. At any rate I should probably start packing up. If y'all go, then there's no reason for me to stay."

_Fuck!_

Sarah piped up. "Cara, what do you mean?" The Weres exchanged concerned glances.

Cara looked at her friends and shrugged. "Well, as far as I can tell, if y'all aren't guarding the place, then there's no one for me to cook for, which is my job, and if there's no job for me to do, then there's no reason for me to be here, is there?"

Elise flicked her eyes toward one of the hidden cameras. Her excellent supe hearing had probably alerted her to their presence, he realized, and she was apparently hoping that he was hearing this unsettling conversation.

He was, and what he was hearing chilled him to the bone.

Elise bit the proverbial bullet. "Cara, what's wrong? You've been out of sorts the last two days. If you'll tell us what's going on, maybe we can help."

Godric immediately gave Elise a 200% raise. But...what did she mean by "out of sorts the last two days"? _What had he missed?_

"Nothing, really. I guess I just thought things were different than they really are." Cara made a face and rubbed the lower part of her stomach. "But don't ask me what's going on around here because I have absolutely no fucking idea." She stomped over to her bottle of Advil.

_Double. Fuck._

Sarah and Elise looked at each other and shrugged.

"But doesn't Godric talk to you about...oh." Elise apparently got a clue.

Cara snorted and slammed the bottle back down on the counter.

Godric cringed.

He was now certain of only a few things: he did not like having trouble in his paradise; even after all his 2100-plus years he still did not understand women; and there was no way in hell she was going any-fucking-where.

Tonight he would _make_ time to talk with Cara. He had foolishly disregarded her right and need to know what was going on, and knew he had best make up for it as soon as possible. There was something else going on, though, another problem that he could not quite identify.

He was ashamed to realize how long it had been since their last true conversation. No matter how spectacular their lovemaking was, he knew they needed more than that, and he had made no real effort in that area.

No wonder she felt less than cherished.

However, regardless of these modern times, if he had to, he would not hesitate to kidnap her to keep her safe, and to fix whatever problem was brewing between them. She was his, he was hers, and the sooner they came to an understanding, the better.

He sent a text to Beck. Maybe he should start with flowers...

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****Poor Godric, he had no idea! Guys, including delicious ancient vampires, do tend to forget about the need for talking, don't they... Do y'all have an idea of what else (besides PMS) is wrong with Cara? Lemme know what you think!** (Also, if you're so inclined, please check out my "one-shot with potential": The Revealing of Andre :D)  
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	34. Chapter 34

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**I'm consistently amazed and humbled by your reviews, followings, and favorites. Thank you for sharing your time and words with me!**

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 34~**

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**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 1)**

Just before Beck answered his phone, Godric changed his mind. Flowers were fine, but he did not want Cara to begin associating them with apologies. He felt shame when he realized he had missed several perfect opportunities to not only give her flowers, but gifts of much more worth, in the last week, and resolved to do better.

After giving his list to the day man, he sent a text to Isabel notifying her that she was in charge, that he was taking the night off and was not to be disturbed for any reason other than a true death emergency.

He used the time left before sundown to ponder the situation with Cara. He paced more than he plotted.

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Godric appeared in the kitchen exactly one minute after the sun set. Cara and Sarah were busy preparing the guards' evening meal, and Elise was staying out of the way in the den.

No one noticed his arrival until Cara suddenly found herself tossed gently but firmly over his shoulder.

"Cara will not return this night. Proceed without her." Godric nodded, and, resolutely ignoring Cara's loudly indignant protests, sped to his quarters.

When he arrived at his door, he nicked his finger for the drop of blood required to release the locks, and grabbed the huge picnic basket sitting beside the door. Once inside his living area, he set the basket down, reengaged the door locks, and carefully lowered Cara to her feet.

She was pissed, and quite frankly he was glad. Perhaps her ire would loosen her tongue and she would let slip the true cause of her anger. From his observations, this conversation was not going to be quick or easy.

"Godric? What the hell? I was in the middle of fixing supper!" Cara could not _believe_ what he'd just done. He'd thrown her over his shoulder like...like...like he had the _right_ to! Geez! What was she, a sack of damn potatoes? What the fuck was going on?!

She stomped most of the way across the room before remembering that he could vamp over to wherever she went in the blink of an eye. Confusingly, however, only his intense blue gaze followed her as he leaned back against the door with his arms folded across over his chest.

Godric was alarmed that the bond was silent even when they were in such close proximity. What could have bothered her to the point that she could, much less would, block him? As much as he regretted her anger, he needed to know what was truly bothering her, and she certainly did not seem in the mood to simply talk. Hell, as it was she would not even look directly at him.

"We need to talk." His voice was smooth and even.

Cara snorted, and turned her back completely to him. Yeah, _now_ he wants to talk.

"There is obviously some sort of problem brewing between us, ma chere. If you will tell me what it is, perhaps I can fix it."

Silence.

Externally, he was as calm, cool, and collected as ever. Internally, he cursed. This was not good. Not only would she not look at him, she would not even speak with him. Her back was stiff, her shoulders were tense...this did not bode well. How could they solve whatever the problem was if she would not open up to him? What the hell _had_ he done?

"Cara, I do not like this distance between us. Forgive me if I missed something, but everything seemed fine last night. What changed?"

Godric would never admit just how desperate he was to know what was going on. The silence of the slight bond was screaming in his head, and his hands tightened, more than ready to squeeze the life from whoever had caused this situation. If she would just give him some sort of idea, any inkling at all of what was wrong, he would gladly move heaven and earth to fix the problem, to clear the air between them. He could not, would not, lose his Cara.

However, her safety must come first, regardless of any problems between them.

"It seems we are at an impasse, then," he stated authoritatively. "Until I know the true extent of the dangers posed by the Weres, and by whoever is behind their actions, I _cannot_ allow you to permanently leave the safety of this estate. Your life is _not_ a risk I am willing to take."

"What?" Cara was immediately even more outraged. How dare he! Who the fuck did he think...how'n the _hell_ did he know...?

"Hey, how'n the hell did you know I'm planning on leaving," she demanded with narrowed eyes. He received the full effect of her glare when she faced him.

Finally, she faced him. Godric wanted nothing more in that moment than to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. She was incredibly beautiful in her temper, her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling, her breath coming in short pants. Fuck. They still had too much to discuss before he could fuck her through the mattress.

Suddenly he realized what _part_ of the problem _might_ be. Taking then expelling an unneeded breath in a useless attempt at calming his screaming libido, he continued.

Although not in the manner he had wished, now was perhaps the time to show her a few of his secrets, and then maybe they could move toward solving the problems.

"When this house was constructed, I had certain security measures installed. All public areas have direct audio and visual feeds to the control center here in my private quarters."

"So what you're saying is that the house is bugged."

He grinned slightly before he could stop himself. "Indeed." Trust his Cara to distill the facts down to basics.

"Public areas...so the bedrooms and bathrooms _are_ safe, right?" Her glare said they'd better be.

"Yes, the private areas are safe." He did not see the need to announce the fact that even those areas could be "accessed" should the need ever arise.

She nodded her head. "So, what's going on exactly?"

"We are discussing what has upset you so badly that you are willing to risk your life to move from here, and then we are coming to an agreement."

Although he was more than half-way across the room, Cara could feel the power emanating from his deceptively relaxed body, and he was so thoroughly focused on her, and _only_ her, that it made her nervous.

So she started pacing.

Godric watched in satisfaction as her cold demeanor melted into movement. It was not much of an improvement, but he would take what he could get.

Cara "hrumphed", then added, "So, the Weres are _still_ a problem even though you guys have captured the last two." Before he could speak, she continued, "What did you find out from them last night? Oh, wait, I guess if you'd wanted me to know anything you'd have told me before now, huh."

And...he got a clear view of her back again.

What? He shook his head, confused. Then he remembered. Last night she had wanted to talk...and he had not let her speak. Fuck. His reasons for enjoying the silence were valid, but he certainly should have _asked_ her to wait until later, and perhaps even scheduled time for a...much needed conversation between them.

Come to think of it, he suddenly realized, he had not had a _real_ conversation with her in...damn. He could well imagine how intolerable such a thing would be for a woman as curious and intelligent as his Cara.

He vamped over to her, but when he placed a hand on her shoulder, she shrugged it off and looked away from him. Godric then realized that what he had thought to be anger was actually hurt. _He_ had hurt his Cara. Remorse seized his ancient heart.

He took her chin and gently turned her face up to his.

"Ahh, Cara mia, I am so sorry," he quietly apologized as he lowered his forehead to meet hers for a long, quiet moment.

"I have been busy, but that is no excuse. I have been meaning to make time to have a rather important discussion with you, but...I have failed, and I apologize." He kissed her forehead, then added, "I have truly missed talking with you."

He rested her head on his shoulder and very slowly drew her into his arms. As he rubbed his cheek against hers, he caught a faint whiff of something different about her chemistry. While he was certain their fight was far from over, he did breathe a sigh of relief now that he knew the cause of at least some of her tension. He allowed himself to relax a small bit when she tentatively placed her hands on his waist.

"I may be over 2100 years old, my dear, and I have experienced a great many things, but I have never tried to be in what you would call a relationship before."

Cara placed a quick kiss on his neck, then removed herself from his embrace. She might be crazy about him, but she was still pissed. She took a few steps away and folded her arms over her chest.

She stared at her toes for a long moment. "You're right. Part of the problem _is_ that you don't even talk to me anymore. I'm apparently good enough for you to fuck and feed off of, but you can't even be bothered to talk to me? No more notes? No more flowers? Hell, you've never even..." She broke off her tirade before she revealed anything even more personal.

WHAT THE FUCK? Godric felt his jaw drop. How...? Why...?

"Cara, you will _never_ refer to yourself in such terms again, do you understand me?" Godric was livid. In all his 2100 years, he could not ever remember a time when he was so suddenly furious...and blind-sided.

His eyes were blazing with fury, his face was stern and hard...and she'd _never_ heard him use _THAT_ tone of voice before.

"You will tell me at once what I have done to give you this impression so that I may correct my actions immediately."

Cara gritted her teeth. Fuck he was hot as all hell when he was pissed...kind of scary...but fuck-hot. She dug her nails into her arms to keep from reaching out to him.

The instant he realized that she wasn't going to speak, he appeared right in her face.

"Tell me, woman. Tell me what the fuck I have done to make you believe I think of you in such a way. TELL ME!"

He gripped her shoulders firmly to keep her from backing away from him.

"Remove. Your. Hands," Cara ground out as she glared directly into his eyes. Damn if she was going to let him manhandle her like that. She knew he was about to cross a line neither one of them would want crossed.

Godric instantly released her, but he didn't otherwise move.

"Forgive me."

She nodded.

Godric could not help it...it seemed he had to be touching her in some way, so he automatically placed his hands lightly on her waist instead. After a very hard swallow, he demanded much more softly, "Cara, tell me - what have I done to make you make you think this of me?"

Cara gazed into his still-blazing eyes, surprised to see the pain burning behind the anger. She bit her bottom lip as, fully aware of her tendency to swat a fly with two tons of explosives when she was angry, she fought to choose her words carefully.

His eyes zeroed in on her lips and he fought hard to restrain his powerful natural urges. Every time he was within scenting distance of the living embodiment of seduction that was his human, his most basic instincts surfaced. Ahh - no wonder talking was so low on his list of priorities when he was around her...and she felt slighted because he...

He once again very gently drew her into his arms, and whispered in her ear, "I think I have identified one of our, well, _my_ issues. Cara, in my entire existence, I have never desired anyone as often and as intensely as I desire you. I am afraid that my natural inclinations toward you do not often involve...talking, and for that, I do apologize."

Although she kept her arms crossed, Cara did lean into the comfort of his embrace, and felt a wee bit better for his unexpected realization. At least he was honest about himself and aware of that...tendency.

Even as angry as she still was with him, she didn't like thinking he was hurting, too...which kind of irritated her in a way. How the hell was she supposed to stay mad at him when she didn't want to hurt his feelings?

"Godric..." she started, then faltered. After taking a deep breath, and inadvertently calmed by his dark, male scent, she tried again. "Godric, I feel like I should warn you about something." She paused when she felt him stiffen in response, and leaned back a bit to look up at him.

"I...well, when I get mad or upset, I tend to go overboard. It usually takes a lot to set me off, but when I do, I basically explode and end up saying things that I don't mean, or things that I really do mean at the time but regret later. That's why I don't like arguing when I'm so pissed off. I tend to escalate things rather quickly."

He started to speak, but she hurriedly unfolded her arms to place a finger over his lips, and shook her head.

"Let me finish." She removed her finger when he nodded.

"I just want to state for the record," and she smiled slightly at her wording, "that I care about you. A lot. And I _don't_ want to hurt your feelings _or_ make you mad. But, honey, I'm so not a happy camper right now, and it's really hard for me to talk about things like this. Always has been. So, you're gonna have to grow some patience, ok?"

Godric stared down into the glistening brown eyes gazing back up at him, and knew he would give her the world. _Of course_, though, his Cara would ask for the _one_ thing he had in shortest supply: patience. How in the _hell_ was he supposed to maintain _any_ sort of _patience_ when the mere thought of losing her made him want to destroy small countries by hand?

Patience.

If he had the bond...

"Can I ask you a question?"

Cara thought it highly unfair of him to stroke his finger down her cheek to her chin, but nodded anyway.

"Why did you block our bond?" Godric stood before her, hands lightly clasping her waist, his body seemingly relaxed. His face was carefully neutral but his eyes were focused and intense.

Despite his calming voice and demeanor, Cara could tell that Godric was anything but. Maybe she really did mean more to him than she'd thought? He seemed to be taking all this very seriously. But...

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Curiosity and confusion muted the rest of her anger. She could block him? This was news to her.

"I cannot feel you. Unblock the bond now, please." His polite insistence puzzled Cara.

"I...huh? Godric, I don't know what you're talking about. The bond can be blocked? How?"

He stared at her for a very long minute, and realized that she truly had no idea that she was blocking the bond...which meant that she would not know how to unblock it, either. Damn.

"Somehow you have blocked the tie between us and unfortunately I can no longer sense your feelings. I only sense that you live."

Cara was surprised: not only that had she blocked the bond, but that he was obviously not happy about it.

"You...you _like_ sensing me?"

Godric was shocked at Cara's surprise. He thought he had erased her doubts, but apparently, he had not.

He took her hand in his, and looked at it. Her hand was small and frail, decidedly dainty compared to his larger, stronger hand. It looked too fragile to hold the weight of his heart, but it did. He just needed to make her understand it.

"Cara," he started, then waited for her to meet his eyes again. "I believe I have done us both a disservice." Godric paused, unaccountably unsure how to proceed. Her scent and the sound of her heartbeat were playing havoc with his senses, which didn't help.

"I like knowing what you feel, Cara mia. It pleases me greatly being close to you in that way. You have no idea how important you are to me, and it is my fault entirely for not making you more fully aware of it."

He kissed the back of her hand then released it to draw her more firmly into his arms. He found that he craved her closeness, which didn't surprise him as much as he thought it should. Somehow he felt that his next words to her would be easier to say if he were not looking directly at her.

"I have wanted to speak with you about our relationship, and while I admit that finding time has been an issue, it was not the only problem." He took a long, unnecessary breath. With a self-depreciative smile, he confessed, "As old as I am, and even with as many things as I have experienced, I am afraid that falling in love is new to me."

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**** UGH! This fight scene has been SO hard to write! I hate when my people aren't happy. Thank goodness I/they had the end of Chapter 32 to fall back on! How do y'all think this argument is going?****

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	35. Chapter 35

****Author's Note****

Bla, bla, bla: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

****You know great things come in 3's, right? RIGHT? **

**{Sorry this is so short, but my bones are hurting tonight (flu'bonia?), and I wanted to go ahead and get this out to y'all, :( so...yeah...more later}** **

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 35~**

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**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 2)**

Cara gasped, her eyes filling with tears that spilled quickly, scared to death she hadn't heard Godric's words right even as she held him as close as she could. Finally curiosity got the best of her and she loosened her hold on him enough to lean back to see his face.

Instead of seeing a loving expression, however, she saw indecision and horrified shock. "Cara...chere...I am so sorry. I did not mean to make you cry!"

Godric placed his palms on each side of her face and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "Stop crying, Cara. Please," he begged.

The sight of her tears tore something in Godric's dead heart. Of all things, _he_ had made her cry!

Cara sniffed as elegantly as possible, then smiled tremulously at the angst-ridden vampire before her. "You...you love me?" She clutched his shoulders in anticipation of his answer.

Godric closed his eyes, relieved beyond measure that these were what he had heard called "happy tears". Then, realizing he was about to say words which had not passed his lips since he was turned, he paused. Savoring the moment, he rested his forehead against hers and inhaled her scent as deeply as he could. After placing the sweetest of kisses on her brow, he raised back up to meet her teary gaze.

"I love you as no other, my Cara. I did not know such a thing was even possible for me. I find my heart is not dead, but is in fact filled with love for you."

Joy bright as the sun flooded his Cara's shocked face before she threw herself back into his chest. He had to remind himself that her ribs were breakable as he gathered her in his arms. His strong hands gently stroked her back in widening circles and he mirrored her position and rested his head in the crook of her neck.

Long, intense minutes later, he felt Cara stiffen and begin moving away from him slowly.

After searching his eyes, she asked, "Then why won't you sleep with me? You're always gone when I wake up, and my bedroom is supposed to be light-tight, yet...you always leave me."

Although she kept her hands on his shoulders, the joy on her face was quickly changing back into wounded anger. Godric mentally noted much he wanted to kiss her now-jutting chin.

Fuck it, he thought to himself. He had waited long enough.

Finally allowing himself to give into the permanent temptation, he cupped the back of her head and suddenly, forcefully, kissed her senseless. He did not waste time easing into this kiss, instead crushing her tremulous lips under the power and expertise of his own. As his tongue rhythmically invaded her mouth, his hands lowered to her ass to heft her up. She automatically wrapped her legs around his waist and, to his pleasure, suddenly returned his kiss with equal force.

Knowing that if he took her to his bed there would be no more talking this night, Godric instead backed her up against the nearest bare wall and took their kiss to a deeper, higher level than ever before.

Bracing her against the wall freed one hand to roam her body from the sweet curves of her ass to the dip of her waist and back.

Hands clutching at his shoulders, heart pounding, Cara gladly gave herself over to the magic in their lips. The knowledge that she was supposed to be hurt and angry fled her mind instantly as she soared with shocked pleasure in the passion in his kiss...and once more with his completely unexpected declaration.

He loved her! She couldn't believe it! Sure, she knew that he was protective, and that even as super-strong as he was, he'd never hurt her no matter how passionate their loving had been, but still...love? That wasn't something she expected. And now that she knew even more about "the vampire way", the fact that he'd come right out and said it made it even more incredible! She decided she would try to wait until tomorrow to freak out about it all...

Godric fought to control his fangs as his tongue danced with hers and his hips ground into her warmth. Eventually he raised his head when he sensed her need to breathe, and, after giving one last maddening thrust into her body, he let her feet slip to the floor. He let one massive shudder ripple though him...and kept her trapped between his body and the wall.

"You truly wish to sleep with me, Cara," he growled softly, surprise evident in his tone. He stroked his fingers lightly down her cheek, as his blue eyes, soft and gentle and amazed, focused on hers.

Cara, noticing her still-pinned position but not minding it, simply nodded. She wasn't sure she could form a coherent sentence yet anyway. His kisses weren't the least bit conducive to logic.

Godric traced her lower lip with his thumb. "When I die for the day, it is as if I am truly dead, ma chere. I would not want my appearance to frighten or disgust you. I would be cold, stiff, and unresponsive to all but the greatest of stimuli. I cannot think this would appeal to you." He tilted his head slightly sideways, obviously curious about her desire to sleep with him, as well as the light dimming from her eyes.

She lowered her eyes and tilted her head away from his hand as she absorbed his words. To her, they sounded more like excuses to avoid sleeping with her than anything else.

Sensing her strong disappointment, Godric tilted her chin back up. "What?" He cringed when tears began filling her eyes again and she tried to move her head. "Cara," he started, his voice unintentionally strong in his rising fear. "Tell me."

Cara despised the squalling, sniveling mess she was becoming, but didn't know how in the hell to stop it. In a couple of days _part_ of the problem would be solved, but still...it must be that stupid love thing...apparently she'd caught it, too, and it sure as fuck didn't feel like sunshine and daisies.

She shook her head, not really wanting to talk about the problem _or_ how stupid she felt for even having one. Or several.

Not knowing how to solve this latest situation, Godric simply wrapped one arm around her waist, gently lowered her head to his shoulder with his other hand, and held her tight. He prayed she would find the words and the inclination to tell him what was wrong in good time, and if it took all this night, and the next, and the one after that, then that is what it would take.

He would wait.

His incredible patience was rewarded when, eventually, her arms slid around his waist, and held him tight. She briefly rubbed her cheek against his neck, took a deep breath, and spoke very quietly into his ear.

"It...it just seems like if you wanted to be with me, you would. I _know_ you don't have to breathe, honey, and that you don't have a pulse, so yeah, you'd be still when you sleep. I get it, it makes sense." She noticed that her voice was rising, so she stopped for a moment to calm down. He started lightly rubbing her back again, and she relaxed even more into his arms.

After placing a conciliatory kiss on his neck, she resumed. "Ok, yeah, so I don't like it when, after we have a really great night, I wake up the next day and you're gone. I love it when you leave me notes, and I miss it when you don't."

Godric waited a moment to see if she would continue, then asked softly, "Now, I sense there is something more bothering you, yes?" He nuzzled into that sweet spot just behind her ear and inhaled deeply, all the while lightly stroking her back and holding her close.

She took a deep breath, and decided to just spill it all. He felt so strong...so strong and solid and powerful against her smaller frame, his hands so gentle and soothing on her back, his scent so comforting. She felt something inside her ease; his resulting jolt made her wonder if this was the blocked bond opening.

She cleared her throat. "I miss talking to you, just...sitting and talking about whatever. I want to know more about you, your history, your dreams and plans and what you like and hate. Where all have you been and where all do you want to go? What were you like as a human and what are the differences between you "then" and "now"? I want to know what makes you laugh, and oh, Godric, I love your laugh! It's the best sound in the world and I never get to hear it anymore."

Cara sniffed, but she was on a roll. "I love when we're together and the way you feel inside me, it's like nothing I've ever felt before and it scares me how perfect we are together like that, but there's so much more to being involved with someone than just the physical part. I want to go out with you and hold hands and see and explore new things with you, and I want to sit by the fire with my head in your lap and just look at you because you're so beautiful. "

She felt something rolling down her neck, but didn't think what it was.

"I love the way you look at me and your voice... Oh, Godric, your voice is...it's everything! Smooth, calm, sexy as fuck, scary as hell, and everything in between...but I don't get to hear nearly enough of it. When you look at me I feel like I'm the only girl you've ever really looked at and I think I'm falling in love with you too and I don't like it and it scares the daylights out of me because..." she snapped her jaws shut and held on tight.

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****I truly do appreciate every single review you guys take the time and effort to write, and I try to respond to all of you as best I can (ugh...why can't days have 48 hours?!) but...if you're logged in as a guest, guess what...I can't write back! Either way, reviews - especially great ones! - really do encourage the writing process!****

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	36. Chapter 36

****A/N: Ok, ok...I guess great things can come in 4's, too...?****

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**~Anticipating, Chapter 36~**

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**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 3)**

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Godric felt small chunks of his ancient heart breaking free at Cara's words. After a few moments, he felt he should be dizzy considering the range of emotions both inspired in himself by her words and felt through the now-opened bond.

It was as if a burst of electricity had jolted him when the bond reopened. He was flooded with a cacophony of emotions...no wonder his Cara had been having such a rough time! He suddenly knew her anger, fear, loneliness, sadness, warmth, joy, desolation, irritation, disbelief, melancholy, desire, and, finally, love. How a mere mortal, or mostly-mortal, could have, much less contain, such a vast array of emotions was beyond his understanding.

He had thought that she cared for him, but given their lack of time spent together, he feared her regard would be light at best. When she spoke of wanting to truly know _him_, and not just his body, he was floored. In all his accumulated years, no one had actually wanted to know the man within the vampire, except perhaps his children.

His male child, Eric, loved him truly as a father, brother, and son. His female child loved him dearly as a father and best friend. His Cara, apparently, loved him as a woman loves her man, and wanted to know him as such. At this realization, he could not stop the tears from spilling down his face.

His Cara was a fascinating yet extremely complicated bundle of conflicted emotions, and he would have to tread carefully while helping her to understand and organize her thoughts and feelings.

He barely restrained himself from openly sobbing when she mentioned how she loved his laugh, and how she did not hear it enough.

Beautiful. _She_ thought _he_ was beautiful. Godric had never felt so humbled. By this time he felt like he was barely hanging onto the wildest emotional ride of his existence..._then_ she admitted that she might be falling in love with him. What did she fear, and why? Surely not him?

He automatically stiffened as he waited for her to continue, and when she didn't, he pulled back far enough to see the fear in her face. Her eyes were closed and she was biting her lip like she was trying to eat her words before they could escape.

"Cara?" She did not respond.

"Cara, I sense your fear, and I do not like it. What frightens you, ma petite? Tell me, and I will do my best to eradicate it."

He knew she did not mean to be so adorable as she screwed up her nose in chagrin.

Cara had the strongest "oops" moment of her life. Shit. She just _had_ to go and run her mouth, didn't she...and of course Godric wouldn't let _that one_ go, would he... Of course not...

Still keeping her eyes closed, she requested, "Can we just pretend I didn't say that?"

"No."

The tone of his voice made her eyes pop open. She spotted the red trails of his tears and her hands flew to his face.

"Godric!" she gasped. "What's wrong?"

He felt her sudden panic taking hold, and immediately sought to ease her mind.

He laughed softly. "It is nothing, my love. Vampire tears are simply made of blood. I am fine."

Naturally the thought of him crying made her cry...again. She hugged him to her, belatedly offering love and support and any other emotion to keep him from crying more. After a long moment, she leaned back, clasped his face between her hands, and urged him closer so she could kiss his tears away.

Thankfully her stomach waited until that mission was accomplished before making itself heard...loudly. Startled by the noise, Cara giggled.

Very happy that the awkward moment had passed, although by no means were they finished with their conversation, Godric placed a swift, hard kiss to her lips then gestured toward the humongous picnic basket near the door.

"Have a seat, my dear. Your dinner awaits."

Cara wandered over to a comfy looking sofa and sat down sideways against the arm while Godric hauled the huge, heavy basket to the table in front of the sofa. He knelt near her feet and, using his body to block her from seeing into it, started unpacking. She couldn't believe how much stuff was in it.

After a while her curiosity got the better of her and she tried to peep over into the basket. She collapsed into a major giggle-fest when he tutted at her and mock-sternly requested that she keep her nosiness to herself.

Eventually the table was loaded: a large thermos she prayed was filled with coffee, another large thermos she really hoped was filled with milk, a cup and saucer, a set of utensils, a small box of bakery cookies, a medium-sized bakery box filled with other sweet baked goods (white-chocolate éclairs, blondies, and decorated mini-cupcakes), a pretty glass bowl of fruit (two each of apples, oranges, bananas, and tangerines), a baguette, four different cheeses, a cheese knife and board, a bottle of orange juice, and several cloth napkins.

Cara was amazed at the spread before her. As huge as the basket was, she couldn't believe all that had come out of it, and the fact that he _still_ wouldn't let her look told her that it _still_ wasn't empty!

Finally remembering to close her mouth from the surprise of it all, she looked over and took in Godric's satisfied expression.

"Wow! I can't believe all that came out of that basket! It's perfect!" She laughed happily as she realized that everything displayed on the table was something she liked. "Oh, honey, I love everything here!"

In a split second, she realized that, no matter the things he didn't do, she rarely thanked him enough for the things he _did_.

She leaned over, took his face between her palms, and kissed his forehead. "You do take very good care of me, Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast, and I appreciate it. Thank you." The extremely pleased, proud look on his face was her immense reward.

Godric leaned back against the couch and enjoyed watching Cara as she dove into the spread on the table, going for the coffee first, of course. He laughed at her squeal of happiness over the coffee service.

He savored how deeply satisfying it was providing for her, and was glad he had chosen to task Beck with gathering these particular items, and was rather impressed with how quickly and well his day man had performed his duties. He would be rewarded for his ingenuity in following his sometimes difficult orders.

Because of his Cara, he found himself giving unexpected raises to many people, and found he did not mind one bit.

He hoped that after she had eaten, she might be more inclined to continue their conversation. They had much left to discuss, and this was above and beyond the most important part of the plan for this evening: discovering and fixing whatever it was that was making her so unhappy.

He fully realized that, of all the important items on his agenda, Cara topped them all. Yes, there were Weres needing to be interrogated, but they could easily wait in custody another night. Perhaps this waiting would loosen their foul tongues...well, tongue, he thought with a smirk. Yes, he had Council business needing his attention, but Isabel was more than able to deal with that annoying mess. The reports and investigations due from his underlings were either in progress or on his desk...and again, Isabel could deal with anything more urgent. His investments all-but ran themselves. All his other plans revolved around different aspects of timing and were going well according to his calculations, so...this night, as well any others needed to solidify his rapport with Cara, was his to use as needed.

Cara's moan of pleasure abruptly refocused Godric's attention. Apparently she liked the combination of bread, cheese, and apple. He enjoyed her obvious appreciation of certain foods, and was pleased she was so neat and dainty in her eating habits. Several times in the past week or so their eyes had met in mutual humor over some of the Were's less than elegant eating behavior.

Had it really been less than two weeks? No wonder his Cara was having difficulties adjusting. From his understanding, she had gone from a calm, normal, perhaps even boring existence to suddenly being thrust into the more violent aspects of supe life, and the urgency of being personally involved with a vampire. Both situations would require a certain amount of adjustment, but when combined...

He regarded his Cara with new respect, and realized he knew as little about her as she did about him. She was right.

Cara knew their conversation was far from over, but she'd take what she could get, and right now, this apple was really good. It didn't hurt that Godric's gaze shifted back to her at her moan of delight - that had to be one of the sweetest apples she'd ever tasted. His eyes darkened when her tongue darted out to catch a drop of juice before it ran down her chin. Already half full from inhaling some of the bread and much of the cheeses, she savored the apple.

Although she didn't think she was any sort of seductress by nature, she did decide to have some fun licking the juice from her fingers. If her attempts succeeded and she did manage to avoid any more of that particular conversation, she'd be a very happy girl indeed.

No such luck. As soon as she finished her apple, Godric led her to a huge, extremely well-appointed bathroom so she could "tend to her human needs." She really wanted to tell him that this human "needed" to not resume that particular conversation but would much rather "tend" to the "need" clearly evident in the bulge of his pants, but she didn't.

She gasped when she entered his bathroom. Glistening gold-flecked burnt rose marble tiles covered the floor, and the countertop of the double-sink vanity was topped with a huge slab of the same material. A huge jetted tub took up one side of the large room, and a shower large enough for two people separated the tub from the toilet area. The cabinetry was made of dark shiny wood which also accented the bathroom and enclosed the toilet area providing privacy, she guessed, in case there were two people in there at once. She made a mental note to explore the room in more detail later, if she could.

When she returned from the bathroom, she did make a point to set aside a rather large banana and an elcair...and a couple of cookies...after she made herself another cup of coffee. It tasted like that fake-popular, nasty burnt crap available on just about every street corner in America, but she wasn't going to complain out loud. The contents of the humongous basket were obviously gathered with her comfort in mind, and she really did appreciate the effort and gesture.

"For what it's worth, I'm absolutely in awe of your bathroom, Godric. It's gorgeous," she exclaimed as she sat back down on the sofa.

The slow, leisurely way his hot blue eyes travelled her body made her catch her breath. "We will definitely have to enjoy a bath together later."

Even knowing that her face was turning three shades of red didn't prevent Cara from peeping up at him and humming her agreement.

Although his nostrils flared and his cock jumped for joy at her consent, Godric was determined to work on the unresolved issues between them. To that end, he took her cup from her hands and placed it back on the table behind him, scooped her up, and sat down with her firmly ensconced on his lap. He turned her around so that she was facing him with her knees on either side of his hips, and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

"Now, why do you fear loving me?"

Shocked at the bluntness of his return to the detested subject, Cara's first instinct was to bolt, but with those strong arms around her, she wasn't going anywhere. She placed her hands on his chest in an unconscious effort to place distance between them.

Sensing her alarm at his bluntness, Godric relented a bit. "We have much to discuss this night, but this is, to me, the most important thing. Once we have resolved this issue, perhaps we can spend the rest of our time much more," he quirked his brow, "comfortably."

Was he bribing her with sex? After examining his intently focused, slightly smug face again, Cara decided that he was _definitely_ bribing her with sex. That arrogant jerk. She felt her body respond immediately.

Somehow he managed to pull her even closer into the strength of his body, and began running his hands over her back slowly, soothingly. After a few moments, he gently guided her head down to his shoulder, and took the scrunchy out of her hair. He loosened and smoothed her hair, and started softly massaging her scalp, all the while lightly stroking her back.

Little by little he felt her begin to relax, and so he waited. He hid his smile when he felt her arms slowly circle his waist.

Knowing without being told that she wasn't going anywhere till she at least said _something_, Cara took a deep breath.

"It's noting serious, Godric, really. I just, well..." she faltered, belying her opening statement. "Ok, to me, love is nothing more than a power struggle, a struggle for control, especially when lust is involved. If you love me, you'll do this. If I love you, then I'll do that. It's just that simple. You trade your power, favors and actions to receive the power, favors, and actions that you want, and I don't like it being like that, but that's just the way it is."

Godric leaned his head back, sensing a long night ahead.

"You once said you have issues with control?"

"Yeah, I definitely do." She was tensing up again, so he started rubbing her back very slightly harder and imperceptivity firmed his hand on her head. Also undetected by Cara, he quietly began pushing a small amount of calm through the bond. Soon enough, she started relaxing again.

"What has happened to make you feel this way?" Forcing his own body to remain relaxed was incredibly difficult considering his thoughts regarding whoever had hurt his woman in such a way.

"Oh, nothing in particular. I mean, I've had a few romances in the past, if you can call them that. But it's been years and years since I even wanted to be with anyone."

Godric nodded. Although he was in no way through with this subject, he knew when discretion was the better part of valor. Besides, there was more than one way to discover what he needed to know.

"What do you see when you stare out the kitchen window at night? It is too dark for you to see very much."

He felt Cara immediately relax completely, lulled into believing that the hated subject was closed. He smirked...and continued his loving attentions.

"The night sky."

Surprise evident in his voice, Godric replied, "The night sky? What do you see in the dark skies?"

"Forever."

Cara shrugged, then leaned back enough to look him in the face. "I can't imagine what _you_ see when you look up at night because the night is all you have. But when _I_ look up at the night sky, I see the beauty of the moon, feel the calling of the stars and I see the knowledge that, under the cover of darkness, we are _all_ the same. When you look up and out and away from this planet, when you're looking up at the stars, time has no meaning. You just keep looking outward and beyond everything that you can see and touch and know here, where we are at that particular moment. I know I'm not making a lot of sense, but...you did ask." She grinned at his bewildered expression.

"I love watching for meteor showers and falling stars. I'd love to see the auroras borealis and australis for myself one day. I can't say I'd ever actually want to go out into space or anything like that, but just think of all the dreams that have been dreamt while pondering the beauty in the stars. They've been around forever in human imaginations. Plus," she laughed, "they're really, really pretty."

Completely bemused, enthralled and fascinated, Godric gazed down in wonder at the enigma on his lap. "But...why..." He stopped, then continued, "Several times I have sensed a great amount of melancholy, even pain, from you when you do this. Why?"

Cara's face softened into sorrow and resignation. "Who wants to spend forever alone?"

Godric immediately hissed in response. Clutching her to him almost painfully tight, he growled a long string of harsh-sounding words she didn't understand, ending with, "You are not alone, min Cara. You will _never_ be alone again!"

The look on his face should have terrified her, but she was suddenly flooded with layers upon layers of love, need, possessiveness, want, determination, adoration, passion, protection. And lust. Strong, strong primal lust.

In the blink of an eye she found herself naked, on her back, in his bed. His eyes blazing a blue she'd never seen before, his fangs fully extended, his own clothing in shreds across the floor, she had never seen Godric this...predatory, feral. Growling low and deep, he pinned her hands above her head with one hand and tested her readiness for him with the other.

Finding her slick and hot with need, he braced them both then plunged in balls deep in one hard thrust...pulled almost all the way back out, then plunged in again...over and over, all the while growling and snarling that she was his, that she was not alone and never would be.

Cara knew instinctively that the primitive male vampire beast in him was in charge, that the beast living inside him was dealing with the situation as best he could. She barely had time to circle his waist with her legs before her first orgasm struck. Then came the second as she screamed his name over and over and dug her nails deep into his hand... followed quickly by the third where she bit him as hard as she could then arched them both off the bed, and still he showed no signs of stopping.

Eventually, her hands still pinned above her head, his mouth descended to claim hers, his kiss fierce and dominant, his lips and tongue and teeth battling for control.

By the fourth time she came undone, she could barely pant his name as hot, endless waves of pleasure flowed and crested. Somewhere in the back of her hazy mind it occurred to her that his bed didn't bang against the wall like hers did.

Then he flipped her over to her hands and knees. He didn't even break his ancient rhythm as he slammed back into her, pounding at a different angle bringing new pleasures and sensations to Cara as she dug her nails into the sheets. He never once stopped growling.

The incredibly hot storm was building up yet again when suddenly a bleeding wrist slammed into her mouth and she drank, pulling long and hard even as she felt his fangs pierce deep into her neck.

The feeling of his blood flowing into her at the same time as her blood was flowing into him caused her to come undone with such force that the world ceased to exist.

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****Hummm...so, what do y'all think just happened... Review, please!****

**(Self-pimping section: If you're in the mood for a slightly different kind of romance-ish story, check out my (so far short) story "The Revealing of Andre" ...yes, **_**that**_** Andre...)**

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	37. Chapter 37

****Author's Note****

**Bla, bla, bla: If you recognize it, I don't own it.**

**.**

**~Anticipating, Chapter 37~**

**.**

**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 4)**

Absolute silence descended in the bedroom. A few moments later, still intimately joined, Godric healed his bite marks then rolled Cara and himself gently onto their sides. Although the beast that lived within him was now mostly back under control, that most primitive part of him always hated healing his marks on her. They were the most visible proof possible that she was his, and he wanted his possession of her known by the world. But he would never willingly do that to her. Not only was her skin too beautiful to mar, but he respected her too much and would not consider taking such actions unless they were truly necessary.

Unfortunately, if she remained in his life for very long, there might actually come a time when such a measure was needed to protect and claim her according to vampire traditions. The disparities between the human and vampire worlds were slowly appearing to close, but in reality, many of the old guard relished and exploited the perceived differences in station between the species.

Although he had never much considered such things in the past, he knew that one of the main things that drew him to her was her adamant, though rarely spoken, determination that everyone was equal, no matter their sex, origin, color, or species. Her will was equal to his, and he respected that, admired it and would never do anything to subvert that most basic part of her.

Regardless, he arrogantly admitted to himself, he would still do whatever it took to keep her safe. If that meant leaving his marks on her, or even using their new, albeit unintentional, bond to control her actions if he felt the need to control her actions, then that is what he would do...but only if he had to, he reassured himself.

He pulled her into the hard strength of his body, fit his knees in behind hers, and wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. He held on tight as he tucked her head under his chin, and slowly, purposefully, inhaled their combined scents on her as her breathing and heartbeat gradually calmed.

He felt the first phase of the new double bond opening up between them, and savored the experience. He had never had a double bond before, and while he knew a lot about it, it was all in theory.

He decided that the reality was so much more intensely satisfying than he could ever have imagined.

As much as he wanted to remain inside her, he needed to see her face, so he reluctantly withdrew his still-hard length and gently turned her to face him.

**0~*~*~*~*~*~0~*~*~*~*~*~0**

Cara felt herself slowly drifting back to earth, and reveled in being held so close in his arms. Very briefly she pondered the fact that he was still hard inside her, but the overwhelming flood of love and desire and protectiveness and possessiveness growing inside her heart took her mind off everything except the art of breathing.

Where were all these feelings coming from? She'd never felt anything like this kind of possessiveness or protectiveness before, nor such...satisfaction? As the feelings grew and swirled and took root, she finally managed to clear her head enough to realize that this might have something to do with some sort of bonding since blood had been given and taken by both of them. She knew what ingesting his blood could do, and wondered what had happened when they both took blood from each other at the same time.

As confused as she was, she was awfully glad he'd given her his blood. There was no way she'd be able to walk tomorrow if he hadn't. But, oddly enough, as rough and as passionate as he generally was with her, he'd never once hurt her, even with his impressive strength.

Just as her body was starting to relax from what she could only classify as the very best pummeling of her life, she felt him gently roll her over until she was facing his hard chest.

He caressed her cheek for a moment before tilting her face up so he could rest his forehead against hers. He smoothed his hand down her side and over her thigh before drawing her knee up over his hip.

Then, leisurely, carefully, as if he had all the time in the world, he softly kissed her swollen lips over and over as he slowly pressed his stiff length into the slick juncture of her thighs.

He could not get enough of her. He had just had the most intense sexual experience of his existence, yet, here he was, easing them both toward yet more bliss. Even the mere thought of not being with her was intolerable.

Sensing his brief distress, Cara drew back enough to meet his intense blue gaze. Her hands clutched at his shoulders in direct response to his cock rubbing across her most sensitive area. Although he seemed fine...more than fine...she'd still sensed that something worried him.

"What's wrong," she asked, her words ending with a gasp as he flexed his hips in just the right way.

"Cara..." he met and held her eyes as his movements became more focused. "I do not believe I can...," he paused as he slowed, trying to regain control of himself, "I need you again," he growled as his movements suddenly became more urgent.

Sensing the same urgency as her lover, Cara used what momentum she could to pull him completely on top of her. Spreading her thighs wide, she urged him to join them completely. He did, somehow managing to do so more smoothly than in past ventures.

When Cara pulled him over on top of her and offered herself to him, Godric fought hard to retain what control he had over himself. He entered her slowly all the while gazing down into the surprising depths of her shining brown eyes. At the completion of their joining, he basked in the satisfied radiance softening her beautiful face.

"We have...many things...to discuss...this night," he said between thrusts, "but still I...cannot...keep myself...from you."

He felt he should be more concerned about his insatiability for Cara but the look in her eyes...the way she touched him...the sound of her voice...her scent...his scent on her...in her...

**0~*~*~*~*~*~0~*~*~*~*~*~0**

Sometime later Cara roused to the feeling of Godric softly stroking her face. As she stretched in his arms, she realized that she was cuddled up to him, and slowly rubbed her cheek over his chest. She smoothed her hand up his side and raised her eyes to meet the absolute adoration shining from his face.

He kissed the tip of her nose, then stroked his thumb over her brow.

"You're fired."

Cara wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. His expression hadn't changed, and his voice was low and dark and sexy, but...

"Huh?"

"You, my bonded, are fired. No mate of mine will cook for or serve anyone, much less Weres." His low, dark, sexy voice was suddenly a bit stronger and firmer.

He placed his finger over her lips when she started to speak.

"Also, I think part of the difficulties between us stem from our lack of time spent together. Unfortunately I cannot change _my_ schedule very much," he explained as he quirked his brow, "but I can very easily hire someone else to cook. This will free up your time to spend how you please, and I hope it will _please_ you to spend more time with me."

His eyes and nostrils flared when Cara nipped his fingertip, which he then moved.

Mission accomplished, she grinned up at him...and quirked her own brow. "Bonded?"

He cleared his throat. The expression on his face - part guilt, part caution, part male satisfaction - was priceless, she thought.

"Yes. We have now completed the first part of a double bond."

Her answer surprised him. "I thought so!"

He had to go and quirk that brow again. "Please explain, ma chere. What do you mean?"

"I felt you, and I knew it had to be _you_ since I've never felt anything near that kind of possessiveness or anything else like it before." She wondered at the surprise on his face, surprise that she herself felt...from him.

"You're feeling surprised right now, aren't you? Why?"

"You are right, I _am_ surprised. From what I know of double bonding traditions, after the first mutual exchange, you, as a human or a Were, would generally not be able to detect _my_ emotions. Only after the second exchange should you be able to sense me at all." He beheld her in amazement, pleased with this unexpected gift of closeness with his heart's desire. He reveled in feeling her peaceful curiosity, satisfaction, and warmth...and slight umbrage. "However, I must apologize to you, Cara. I had intended this night to discuss forming a double bond with you, but as you can tell, things did not go exactly as I had planned."

"Yes," she replied archly, "don't you hate it when the bed sneaks up under us like this?"

At least he had the grace to appear a bit chastened, she thought. Beds sure did have a strange habit of appearing right up under them quite often...

She stretched more fully then scowled. "Apparently this bed makes me have to take human moments, too."

She extricated herself from his arms and rose to sit on the edge of the bed for a moment before preparing to stand. She gasped then laughed when a dark burgundy silk robe appeared under her nose.

After availing herself of the facilities (and cleaning herself from their most recent sex-fest), Cara returned to find Godric lying on his side in the bed. He held the covers back for her invitingly, so she took the robe off and tossed it to the foot of the bed, then slid in beside him.

"So, tell me more about this accidental double bond." She wanted more information before she decided if she was pissed or happy. She was leaning toward happy, but damn, this double bond thing directly involved her, too.

When Godric automatically reached out to touch her, she jerked back. "Talk, not touch, Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast. Touching leads to _not_ talking," she laughed, "so...move your beautiful mouth and not your hands, which, by the way, really ought to be illegal."

Godric wryly agreed with her summation and adored her instead with his eyes. "As you wish, my love. Unfortunately, you are correct."

While he basked in sensing her humor, he also detected her vague but understandable suspicion, uncertainty, and unease. He wished he knew which god to thank for her charitable disposition that was allowing him the opportunity to explain.

"My plans for us this night were, primarily, to solve any problems between us. Afterward, I wanted us to have a chance to simply talk. There were, and are, many things I would like to talk with you about, and one of those things was the option of forming a double bond between us." He watched as his hand, seemingly no longer under his own control, lifted to tuck an escaped curl of dark hair back behind her ear.

His smile turned shy as his eyes met hers. He was unaccustomed to having his weaknesses displayed so openly, and his inability to keep his hands to himself in her presence was definitely a weakness.

Cara just smiled as she covered and squeezed his hand briefly before tucking both her hands under her cheek.

"I have missed spending time alone with you, ma chere. You are bright, witty, and have a truly wicked sense of humor. You seem to understand things quickly without much explanation, and that is a rare trait. Truly, I have missed talking with you."

His darkening blue eyes caressed her face almost like a touch. She never thought she could feel so comfortable just talking while lying in bed, naked, with the most beautifully handsome male she'd ever seen. But yet here she was...lying in bed...just talking, _finally_...with the most beautifully handsome male she'd ever seen.

"I've missed talking with you, too, Godric. I love hearing how you think about the world. I love how much you know, and I love how willing you are to share that knowledge with me. But, most of all, I love when the playful side of your personality comes for a visit. He doesn't come nearly often enough."

"Unfortunately if we keep talking along these lines, he will "_come_" sooner than expected, and we do need to finish at least _this_ conversation."

The look he gave Cara could have melted steel. By unspoken mutual agreement, they both moved a bit farther apart and resettled themselves comfortably.

Godric leered at her throat for a moment, then unnecessarily cleared his own. "I have never bonded with anyone before, so all my knowledge is hear-say, but I will tell you what I know. Whether intended or not, you and I have completed the first part of a double bonding. It takes three separate mutual blood exchanges before the bonding is permanent. Unless replenished, the first two exchanges are temporary, with the first one lasting maybe six months at the most, and the second one lasting a little longer. No matter if the vampire is bonding with a human, a supe, or another vampire, it will always take three exchanges, and they must always be mutual for it to be a double bonding."

He paused until Cara nodded her understanding.

"I have _no_ excuse for tonight. I can only say that I wanted you, and it felt like you wanted me. My gut told me that the timing was right, and before I fully realized what I was doing, my wrist was in your mouth and my fangs were in your flesh. It just felt...right."

He paused again. Cara just looked at him.

"Although I do not wish to incur your anger, I have to tell you that I in no way regret bonding with you, and, if you will have me, when you are ready, I wish to complete the next two exchanges to make this bond permanent."

Cara felt his love and honesty. She also sensed his determination and clarity of purpose, and his slight fear of rejection. She slowly held her hand out half-way between them and smiled when he placed his hand in hers. She noted how her simple touch seemed to soothe him.

"Tell me more about this kind of bond. How is it different from when I already had your blood?"

"Before I could only sense how you felt, if you were hurt, and where you were. Now, I can sense much more clearly how you feel, and I will be able to locate you much easier, and at a longer distance, should the need ever arise. And, very surprisingly for a first exchange, you can apparently sense how I feel as well. I do not know if you would be able to locate me, though. "

"And?" Cara had sensed his peculiar, and growing, reticence.

"And I understand that even a first exchange is supposed to enable a vampire to will his bonded to do his bidding, but I doubt that I would ever need to have that sort of control over you. Also... Please, do not...Cara!"

Cara had immediately risen and was putting his robe on before he even stopped speaking. He could not believe the amount of anger and the feelings of betrayal coursing through her. The strength of her anger alone was staggering.

In a flash he was standing before her with his hands on her hips.

"Cara! Listen to me, please. Cara!" He pulled her closer, determined to break through her fury enough to show her it was completely unwarranted. He waited until she focused her death glare on him.

"My love, never would I even attempt to influence your actions except and _only_ to save you from suffering or death, and for no other reason. Ever."

Her fierce stare and the feelings burning through the bond told him he was losing ground fast. Her rigid stance, tight lips, and folded arms gave proof to her displeasure. His chest ached at the closed expression on her face.

"I trusted you and _this_ is how you repay me?" She hissed at him. "At least you decided to be honest enough to tell me to my face that you're _planning_ on using this damn bond of yours to control me...but for my own safety, of course," she ended mockingly.

Godric felt his whole world crumbling, and all because of a few moments' loss of control. In truth, he could not fault her reasoning. He knew that if he had only forced himself to slow down and talk with her _before_ taking her to bed so suddenly, this never would have happened. He could think of no way to salvage this situation. She detested being controlled in any way. If he could only glamour...

"Cara, please consider that it is highly unlikely that I would ever be able to influence more than your moods at most. Remember, you cannot be glamoured, and you have the ability to somehow close the weak bond that we already had. I doubt I can even influence your emotions all that much."

"But you were already planning on trying, Godric, so that point is actually moot. You absolutely believe that you have the _right_ to control or influence how I feel? How I act? I'm not your damn pet, asshole. Either we are equal, or I'm gone - one _or_ the other."

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****Ohhhh shit...Godric's in the doghouse for sure... So, what did you think?****

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	38. Chapter 38

****Author's Note****

**Bla, bla, bla: You know I only own the original stuff, right?**

****I really hope you beautiful, amazing readers don't mind me stretching this uber-important night out into so (incredibly) many chapters. I have to keep in mind that Godric and Cara haven't actually been able to spend all that much time together "just talking", and they need to cover so many topics. Patience, dear readers!****

**.**

**~Anticipating, Chapter 38~**

**.**

**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 5...)**

Godric pinched the bridge of his nose. Although he completely understood Cara's anger, he himself was torn between wanting to comfort her and wanting to yell back at her in frustration. He never yelled for emotional reasons...the only time he ever raised his voice was to make himself heard over louder noises. Now was certainly not such a time...

"**_CARA_**!"

She jerked her face up to glare back at him.

Oh no...no...not...not that...fuck.

Her bottom lip trembled.

Once was all it took before he gathered her stiff, protesting body in his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder.

"Love, can you not tell?" He started smoothing his hands over her back as he growled low into her ear. "If ever I were going to misuse any sort of bond between us, now would be the time. Your anger and especially your distrust wound me more, I think, than you realize. It kills me that I have hurt your feelings, and that you feel I have in some way betrayed you."

Cara didn't speak, but she did calm down some and tried to explore the bond. She examined the feelings she was receiving from him, and found that, in amongst the surprising number of emotions she sensed, the strongest were love, worry, determination, and a sense of hurt that she hadn't noticed from him before.

Arms still folded, body still tense, she leaned back a bit and replied softly, "It's never been my intention to hurt you, Godric, just as I'm sure it's never been your intention to hurt me." She sniffed and tucked herself back where she most wanted to be.

Godric started to speak again, but she quickly shook her head. She knew she just needed a moment to calm down, review all the facts, and enjoy the simple pleasure of being held in his arms. He continued rubbing her back in soft, soothing circles.

Suddenly she jerked. "Oh God, honey, I'm sorry for calling you such a disrespectful name! I shouldn't stoop so low...my mouth runs away from me when I...please forgive me?"

She leaned back, and when Godric met her tear-filled eyes, he knew he would forgive her anything. He smiled, nodded, and kissed her forehead.

"Of course I forgive you, ma chere. Your anger is understandable. Can you forgive me for how this bond started?" Through the new bond, Cara could feel the spike in Godric's trepidation, although his face didn't reveal a thing.

She sniffed, then slid her arms around his waist and held him as close as she could. After taking a deep breath that flooded her lungs with his dark leather-and-pine scent, she replied, "Of course. I'm so sorry, honey. It's my tendency to over-react and lose control of my mouth that makes me understand and forgive _you_ for how you started this double bond thing between us." Suddenly she snickered. "Pot, meet kettle; kettle, meet pot."

Godric drew back and looked at her quizzically. She just laughed and raised her arms up around his neck and held him to her.

A moment later, she leaned back from him and took his face between her palms. She bit her lip for a long moment as if she were contemplating something. Finally, she spoke. "I want to try something, ok?"

Godric nodded, curious to see what she was going to do. He would agree to anything to keep those tears away.

The thought that she might have hurt his feelings gnawed at her. Cara looked into his sunset blue eyes, and concentrated on sending him all the love and comfort she could muster. It must have worked because an instant later his eyes grew big and his jaw dropped, giving her the biggest open-mouthed smile she'd ever seen.

The sparkling joy in his resulting laugh banished any remaining negativity.

"That...that is incredible! Cara! You just _sent_ me your emotions...they are so clear! I have never felt anything like it!"

She laughed as he gathered her up in his arms and swirled them around the room.

"My turn," he claimed a moment later as he stilled their movements.

Keeping his hands firm about her waist and her body close to his, he lowered his head to peer down into her bright mahogany eyes. He concentrated on sending her all the joy and elation he felt, and noted with elemental satisfaction how her eyes widened with surprise and her enticing heartbeat increased slightly. The sound of her warm laughter ignited his affections in a way already proven dangerous to verbal communications.

He clasped her back to him as he halted his breathing in an attempt to control his arousal. His fangs throbbed and his cock reacted accordingly, but he was determined to at least try to control his more primal side. He realized that he might should get dressed...as if mere cloth could contain his lusts. With great difficulty he retracted his fangs.

"Are you hungry?" he pulled back to ask a few moments later, his eyes still sparkling dangerously.

"I could eat," she replied with a laugh as she basked in his glow. Even in his happiness, he still radiated a power that couldn't be ignored. "But first, there's something I have to say."

Godric raised the brow she enjoyed so much, and waited for her to continue. Thankfully, the bond told him that she was still very happy, so he felt only curiosity.

"Thank you."

"For what, Cara-mia?"

"For setting aside tonight just for us. For that lovely basket." She cupped his jaw, and stroked her thumb over his cheek. "For all the attention to detail you put into the contents of that basket. For letting me get my over-reaction out of the way so we could progress with _our_ evening. For caring enough about me to see past my _many_ glorious faults," she finished with a soft laugh.

"Cara, in the process of loving you, I have discovered that I am, by turns, even more patient and," he sighed, "impatient than even I was aware." He gazed down into her eyes, as happy and content as he could ever wish.

He kissed her cheek, narrowly avoiding her plump lips by sheer willpower alone. "Come, eat."

Ensconced back on the couch, Cara contemplated the banana and the éclair, and wisely chose to postpone her teasing plans with them. She would be quite happy, for now, with the cookies and another cup of thermos-hot coffee.

"Ok, so if I'm now jobless, what _am_ I supposed to be doing? These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are really good, by the way."

Godric grinned his satisfaction with her pleasure as he returned from the bedroom. Cara was disappointed to see that he was wearing black silk pajama bottoms, but was glad, too. His hard, muscled body was distracting in the most delicious ways. Well-defined lines led to smooth planes and mouth-watering valleys she really wanted to explore.

"Thank you, and anything you wish."

His fangs dropped when she sent him her own scalding sideways glance. His resulting rumbling purr was an arousing reminder of just how thin his veneer of civility really was. The fangs helped with that reminder, too. Cara blushed and purposefully redirected most of her attentions back to her snack.

When she was finished, Godric easily hauled her over onto his lap. "Now you can sort through your things left from the apartment. You will have time to read your many books, and I hope you will become comfortable with the books in my study upstairs. And, I have a surprise for you," he added charmingly.

Sensing his mood to play, Cara replied, "Lemme guess...a one-footed purple plastic flamingo flying a kite?"

Godric laughed and shook his head. He missed teasing with her, he realized, even more than he thought.

"Erm...a pink and orange polka dot mouse costume?"

He laughed harder and shook his head again. "One more guess."

Cara pretended to think as she absent-mindedly ran her hand over his bare chest.

"Oh, I know...a stuffed pillow shaped like a teddy bear peeling potatoes?" She blinked innocently.

Godric hugged her to his chest and laughed out loud. "Ah, Cara, you are a delight. No, I am afraid such things are not likely in your future." He tapped her lips when she fake-pouted. "However, you may be happy to learn that your plants have been salvaged and are growing well according to our gardeners."

Cara's eyes lit up. "Really? Seriously? That's awesome! I've been worried about them, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do about them. That's wonderful news!" She straddled his lap so she could hug him properly.

He closed his arms around her and tried not to think about just how arousing her new position was. Or how easily he could part her robe.

"I have contracted with DesChamps to have your apartment fully restored by tomorrow, but I would ask you something."

Keeping her hands around his neck, Cara sat back on his lap to ask, "What?"

Godric took a deep breath and hoped she would not sense his nervousness. "I would ask you to move in _here_ with me, permanently."

Cara didn't say a word. Because she sensed his nervousness, she had a feeling there was more to it than just giving up an apartment she didn't really like anyway, so she just waited for him to finish.

He settled her more into his lap, and continued. "While it is true that you still need protection from the Weres, the fact remains that I wish for you to be here regardless. Now that we have established the beginnings of a mutual bond, I would be able to sense if you were in danger even more quickly and locate you much more accurately, however, I..."

Cara placed a fingertip over his lips. When he stopped talking, she leaned up a bit and kissed his nose. "Yes."

Instantly she was laid back flat on the couch being thoroughly kissed by a very talented ancient vampire. Before she could stop herself, she wound her legs around his waist and returned his kiss with arousing enthusiasm. When Godric began trailing open-mouthed kisses down her chest following the opening of the conveniently-parting robe, she told him with a shaky laugh, "Godric, we should stop. We still have talking to do."

He murmured his agreement since his lips and tongue were suddenly busy teasing her nipple. Long minutes later Godric strained to remind himself that control was a good thing. In that exact moment he could not remember precisely _why_ he was supposed to be so concerned with not fucking his beautiful Cara because all he desired was to be sheathed balls deep in her slick heat, but he knew they were supposed to be doing something _other_ than writhing on his couch.

Cara moaned yet again as his wondering tongue dipped into her belly button as he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and fingers. When he finally stopped and rested his cool forehead on the flushed skin of her stomach, she gasped at the temperature difference.

He chuckled at the noise, then raised his head to meet her slightly hazy stare. After he captured her eyes in his burning blue gaze, he sat up between her legs and very slowly, very lightly, trailed his hand from her nipple down her stomach past her hip to the inside of her leg. "There are many places on a human's body from which a vampire may feed. After we have talked, my Cara, I wish to show you a place you may find...particularly exciting."

The pure male lust flowing from both his body and the bond made Cara's hips twitch. Caught up in the heavy scent of her arousal, Godric kept his incredible focus on her eyes as he moved his fingers the bare inch needed to gently part her slick folds.

"Part your legs for me, Cara," he commanded, his voice deep and thick. She let one leg dangle to the floor at his words, and didn't break their gaze when he raised her other leg up by the knee to rest it over the back of the couch. "Put your hands behind your head for me, Cara."

She didn't know where this new commanding streak was coming from, but for now the fire in his eyes and the tone of his dark, sweet voice was turning her on in ways she never thought possible. She did as he asked, and thought about how weird it felt being so exposed to his burning gaze, even though his eyes hadn't once left hers.

He slowly moved his fingers up past her clit then slowly stroked all the way down...then all the way back up again. On the way back down his fingers found and rhythmically invaded her opening, and his thumb stretched back up to lightly tease and circle her clit. Suddenly he was rubbing faster and harder in a way that had Cara breaking their eye contact by throwing her head back and screaming his name repeatedly.

His hand slowed down but never quite stilled while he waited for her to regain her breath. When she finally moved her head to meet is eyes, he slowly withdrew his fingers from her warmth and bent his head to kiss her softly.

"Magnificent." He kissed her forehead. "You are truly a delight to all my senses." He kissed her lips again. He wondered why she did not embrace him, then remembered. "Cara, you can move your arms, my love," he said with a grin.

She giggled. "Are you sure about that? Why did you tell me to put them behind my head?"

"I am sorry for that, love, but if you had touched me just then, there would be no more conversation this night."

"Ok, I'm confused," she admitted, then impulsively drew his head down for another kiss. "If you were that turned on, then didn't it make it worse for you doing that with me just now?"

Understanding her confusion, he smiled against her lips. "Oddly, no. Giving you such pleasure satisfies something deep within me. I still crave you, and if we do not move soon then all this will have been for naught, but I must admit that I adore watching you reach your pleasure."

"So...um..." Cara blushed a charming shade of red.

"What is it, ma chere? You can ask me absolutely anything."

"Good, because there's a lot I don't know about this kind of thing."

"Sex?"

"Yup."

"You do not have much experience, this I know."

"Well, I know a lot in theory, but not in actual practice. Let's put it that way."

"I know much in practice, and have never really bothered with theory," Godric said with a low laugh. "Cara, ask."

She closed her arms around him and held him to her. She thought it should feel odd being so comfortable with his weight atop her virtually naked body, but she was.

He felt her gathering her courage, and wondered at her reluctance to discuss whatever it was that she was questioning, but with her sexual inexperience, it made sense. He suspected he had already expanded her horizons, and was proud that she had chosen him.

"Ok, I'll be blunt. You're not into power-tripping S&M or Dom/sub shit, are you?"

He pulled back, surprisingly offended. "No, of course not. And, even if I ever had been, I love you much too much to want to hurt, dominate, or humiliate you in _any_ way, but _especially_ not during sex. You mean too much to me for me to want to abuse you in such ways." His upper lip curled in disgust and his eyes blazed in indignation.

"I didn't mean to offend you, honey, but I had to know. I wouldn't mind a bit playing around with you maybe, sometimes, but I'm not into hurting people or power games or whatever. I have too many control and authority issues as it is," she laughed.

Satisfied with her answer, he quirked that brow she loved so much. "Playing around?"

She blushed. Of course he'd latch onto that. "We'll just have to see," she teased, now much more at ease with his sexual presence. "Ok, vampire up, human needs a minute."

Godric kissed her nose, then helped her up.

When Cara returned from the bathroom, she found Godric sitting on the couch drinking a bottle of nasty fake blood. She sat down facing him on the other end of the sofa.

"Why do you drink that stuff if it's so nasty? Not to sound self-important, but you've got me on tap now."

He placed the now-empty bottle on the table. "It is my turn to be blunt. Cara-mia, you are delicious." He grinned at her resulting blush. "You taste better than anyone I have ever tasted in my unlife. Your scent not only hardens my cock, but drops my fangs with amazing regularity. But, at the same time, you are precious to me. I refuse to risk your safety by taking too much from you or by feeding from you too often." He started to reach for her, but changed his mind. Her scent was still too fucking appealing.

"At my age, I may not require much blood, but...as your scent is so enticing, it is safest that I drink that foul rot at regular intervals. It does not help much, but it helps enough."

Cara knew that he had just paid her a huge compliment, but still, the whole thing was still a bit...icky. But...what if he got tired of the fake stuff, and wanted more of the real thing? It suddenly occurred to her that he could very easily feed from someone else. If she remembered right, one or two of the guys in his retinue kept donors or pets or whatever they called themselves, didn't they?

He felt the sharp jolt of her apprehension and jealousy, and wanted to nip that in the bud. "Cara, only once since I met you have I fed from another, and then it was only a feeding. Do you remember your first night here?"

She met his eyes warily, and nodded her head.

"That night, after I settled you into your quarters, I had two realistic options. I could either drink from you and risk not only our relationship but possibly your life, or I could feed from donors. I chose donors." He did not like the way she was looking at him, but he would not lie to her.

Cara glared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She distinctly remembered that particular night. If Godric hadn't had the forethought to ask her to stay in his house until he returned from his meeting, she would likely have been killed by the Weres who broke into her apartment and wrecked the place. She remembered the closeness she finally allowed herself to thoroughly enjoy in his embrace, and the light teasing they'd done before he flew her up the stairs. And then she remembered the way he'd looked at her: feral, aroused...and hungry.

She tried to tamp down her body's pleasant reaction to that memory.

She opened her eyes but refused to meet his direct gaze. They still had talking to do. "Godric, I completely understand. I just hope they tasted nasty." She snickered as she cut her eyes sideways at him. She felt his relief with her teasing and rubbed her foot along his silk-clad leg stretched out on the couch near hers.

"You may rest assured they were nowhere near your caliber."

"Good."

"Brat."

"Only on days ending with 'y'."

He laughed out loud and, in the blink of an eye, had Cara resituated on his lap. As she curled sideways into his chest, he held her close, and reveled in the intensity of the peace flowing between them.

"Will you consider moving in here with me? I worry about your reaction to sleeping beside my still body during the day, but I wish to have you by my side."

Cara concentrated hard on picking at the edging on the robe. "It's...that's one of the things I was kind of upset about, you know? I hated feeling like you didn't want to sleep with me when we were through. But, I have to say, now that you've basically invited me to move in with you, it's weird, but now all of a sudden I feel like we're moving too fast." She laughed at herself. "I'm such a mess, honey, but at least I admit it." She placed a sweet kiss on his chest in apology.

He appreciated her honesty, and he was inordinately pleased with the level of her self-awareness, but he still had a few tricks, and truths, up his sleeve.

He softy kissed her temple and smoothed back her hair. "I sleep in these quarters because these are the safest rooms on this estate," he whispered in her ear. "I think often of the joy I feel when you fall asleep in my arms, and while I would never expect you to remain trapped in here during the daylight hours, ma petite, I do dream of waking with you here, in my bed."

He turned her slightly more into his chest, and stroked her cheek. "But, Cara," he paused to tilt her chin up to gaze into her soft brown eyes, "I also dream of falling into my daytime sleep with you safe in my arms. I dream of the warmth of your body seeping into mine, of your scent easing away the stress of the night, of the sound of your heartbeat lulling me into my rest...knowing I have you here, safe, in my arms."

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****I'm sorry for the delay in getting this chapter finished *cringe* and I thank you for your patience. Remember: reviews are like muse-crack, so post away!****

*****Self-pimp time: Did I mention I recently wrote a One-Shot "Sookie Takes Charge"? Check it out if you want! (I'd gladly post a link, only, this site is really strange about links...even to themselves...)***  
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	39. Chapter 39

****Author's Note****

**Bla, bla, bla: You know I only own the original stuff, right? I also own all the many, many mistakes, too!  
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**~Anticipating, Chapter 39~**

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**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 6...)**

Cara's sudden stillness worried Godric. He had no idea of her thoughts, and the feelings flowing through the bond were too complicated to decipher. He slowly soothed his hand over her back, gently relaxing her tense muscles and giving her some time to think.

After a few long moments, he felt her hand slide up his chest as she turned her face into his neck. Finally he was able to discern the strongest of her emotions, and his heart sank.

"Speak to me, ma chere. Tell me what worries you," he whispered. He _had_ to find out what she was thinking to cause such a negative reaction.

Regardless of her final answer, she would stay in his home as the Were situation alone was yet to be resolved. It was by far too dangerous for her to be without his protection.

Cara nuzzled her nose along the smooth skin of his neck, rubbing back and forth as she inhaled deep, calming breaths.

"I'm just...scared," she quietly admitted into his neck. She felt him tense up, and continued sooner than she really wanted. "I'm not scared of you, honey. And I'm not scared of sleeping beside you, either. I don't like the idea that you're basically passed out cold all during the daylight hours," she laughed softly, "but I do understand why, of course."

Godric waited a few moments, and when she didn't continue, he softly asked, "Come, Cara, tell me exactly what frightens you so that we can deal with it." He halted his soothing movements and simply held her close as he pressed his lips to her temple. He loved the weight and warmth of her smaller body on his lap.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled long and slow.

"Ok...I'm scared I'll get used to being with you, and then something will happen and we won't be together anymore. I'm scared that if we spend a _lot_ of time together, that we'll get tired of being around each other so much. And even though I love the idea of going to sleep and staying asleep in your arms, I'm scared I won't like sleeping with you because I've never actually slept in the same bed with anyone before...ever. I've never been _this_ involved in someone else's life before, and I've never let anyone else be so involved in mine, either. This is all new country for me, ya know? I could probably go on, but I think that's enough for now."

Godric held her to him as he laughed softly in relief. These were problems he could easily handle.

"Cara, ma petite," he stated, his voice deep and strong and sure, "please, above all, do not fear a future with me. We will speak more on that later." He tilted her head up and felt his heart break a little at the fear in her eyes. "Now, to address your next concern, yes, we will be spending much more time together, and I sincerely look forward to it. So far most of our limited time together has been spent in extremely pleasurable activities, but even I have come to realize that we need something more. Well," he paused as his heated gaze caressed her face, taking in her dark brows and flushing cheeks, finally pausing pointedly on her sweet pink lips, "that is what my mind tells me at any rate."

Cara laughed at both his leering and his markedly quirked brow. She loved that brow, especially when he raised it during a humorous moment. He kissed her forehead, then continued.

"The possessive, territorial part of me is intensely pleased to know that I will be the first to truly share your bed," he said as his voice deepened into a growl as his strengthening accent caused him to purr his r's.

She stared, fascinated, as the blue in his luminous eyes darkened and his fangs peeked out. The feelings seeping through the bond spoke of sweet, passionate, purely male satisfaction. She blushed when she sensed other, more erotic, feelings seeping through the bond.

He bowed his head enough to graze his fangs over her throat and huffed a couple of deep breaths of her scent, but caught himself just before he started preparing her throat for his bite. He chuckled darkly at her shiver.

Whispering into her ear, he admitted, "Cara-mia, this is, as you say, new country for me as well. I have never held, nor even desired, such closeness with another as I have with you. Let us simply enjoy each other, yes? Let us share our pleasures in each other's bodies, and also in each other's presence, as well. If you will make your home with me as my bonded, then we will have more time to spend together in any way we choose."

Cara knew she was in trouble. Between that sexy accent and that erotic but weirdly calming purring coming from his chest, and the heat of his gaze burning through all her fears, yup...she was sunk. She was awfully glad he didn't bring out the purring _or_ that accent on a regular basis. They were damn powerful weapons.

She'd already agreed to move in with him earlier, at least she thought she had, but she appreciated him wanting to make sure she knew what she was agreeing to do. Her instincts told her she could trust him, and she really wanted to be with him, but...this seemed like too much, too soon. Why was he in such a hurry?

"Godric?"

He kissed her crown. "Yes?"

"It seems to me like we're moving awfully fast here, in a way. Why?"

"I do not quite understand what you mean, ma chere."

"Less than two weeks ago I didn't even know any vampires, much less you, personally. Now all of a sudden you're wanting me to seriously move in with you. I don't know how things work in the supe world, but as far as I'm concerned, things like this just don't happen this fast."

"Ahh, I think I understand now. In my long life, I have learned many, many things, but one of the most important lessons I learned was this: follow your instincts. And, when you are certain about something, do not waste time. Theoretically I may have all the time in the world, but opportunities will not wait around for my convenience."

He paused to see if Cara wished to speak, and when she remained quiet, he continued after monitoring the bond.

"Also, consider that while vampires can live an unlimited number of years, our lives are generally restricted to only the dark hours. Much must be accomplished in a very small amount of time, therefore we learn very soon after rising to act quickly and decisively. Bluntly, we do not have time to waste in doubt or fear. Time is a luxury we cannot afford to squander."

He paused again to monitor the bond, and to deeply inhale her scent.

"Finally, what you may not realize, Cara-mia, is that I was ready to take you the night we met."

"Oh."

"This shocks you?" He smirked to himself, glad Cara missed what he was sure was an arrogant expression.

"Yes, and no. But, I can see what you mean about time being a luxury. You have so much of it, but in such small increments. It must be really frustrating to have forever chopped up into such small blocks."

"You have no idea, ma chere." He chuckled ruefully.

She laughed with him, then relaxed against his cool chest for a little while.

His lap was so comfortable, but she really wanted more coffee...but she didn't want to move, either.

She laughed.

"What is it, chere?"

"I want it all, that's all."

He looked into her face, curious as to what she meant.

"Well, I don't want to move from here, but I want another cup of coffee. But, like I said, I don't want to move the whole three feet to the table to make another cup," she said with a fake pout. "And I love that purring thing you're doing - you wouldn't believe how much I love it," she peeped up at him through her lashes, "but if I don't move... Well, let's just say that you could probably use it to get me to do pretty much anything you wanted," she admitted as she glanced pointedly toward his lips than peeped back into his darkening eyes. She really would rather "sex" than "talk", and while she didn't think it'd actually work, she still had to try, didn't she?

"Oh, really," he growled. He knew she did not like talking much about her feelings, an oddity if he understood current thoughts about relationships between men and women, and knew she would much rather they use their mouths for other purposes, but they really did need to talk...for now.

"Yup," she said, popping the "p". Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Godric?"

"Yes, my minx, what is it?"

"I wish you'd been my first."

He was confused - first _what_? The bond told him this was not a trivial subject for her.

"First what, Cara?" He palmed her cheek and raised her face to meet his eyes.

She smiled shyly, and replied, "I wish you'd been my first...everything. My first kiss, my first time in bed with someone, everything."

He bowed his forehead to meet hers, and swallowed hard. "Me, too, my love. Me, too."

He sensed a sudden, sharp pain laced with fear and shame shooting through the bond and instinctively hissed. He sensed this had to do with her first time having sex, and his heart sank even as the beast in him rose.

"What was that, Cara? Tell me," he demanded softly.

She jerked her face away and tried to get up. "Nothing?"

He could tell she did not want to speak of this thing, but she was his, and if someone had hurt her, it was his responsibility and pleasure to take care of the situation.

He gathered her back into his arms and placed her back on his lap, and held her close.

"You, ma chere," he kissed her temple, "are an awful liar. Now, tell me. We will sit here all night and all day if we must."

Cara could feel his anger, frustration, lust for revenge, and pure hard determination, and knew he was serious. They really _would_ sit there until she told him.

Hrumph. Dang determined vampires and their superior strength.

She raised her knees up and repositioned her feet on the other side of his firm thigh. She folded the robe over her legs, then hugged her arms around her waist, and leaned back into his chest.

Godric waited.

She cleared her throat. She looked down at her knees. She glanced over at the coffee service sitting on the table.

Godric...waited.

She repositioned her feet on the couch. She scratched her arm.

Then she sighed.

"We were in high school together, and we were best friends. We hung out together all the time when we weren't in class or asleep, ya know? We'd talk about anything and everything, life, our classes, who we were seeing, who we had a crush on, philosophy, everything. We were really, really close, but only as friends."

She nudged her face into the comfort of his neck. His heart squeezed painfully as he waited, and dreaded, for her to continue.

"I'd never gone all the way with anyone before. It wasn't that I was saving myself or marriage or some such thing - it was more that I just hadn't meet the right guy yet. I was, and still am, quite picky in that regard," she laughed.

He cuddled her closer, and started rubbing slow circles on her back. The urge to touch her was ever his constant companion, as was the urge to comfort her in whichever way she needed.

She took a deep breath, then blew it out as she seemed to shrink into him.

"One evening we went over to a friend's house, and, like the silly young fools we were, we started drinking a little. Well, I don't really like the taste of alcohol all that much, but he did, so guess who drank the most, huh. I don't know why, but we started fooling around a little bit, then one thing led to another. I said no but he didn't want to hear that, so he didn't stop, and, yeah. That was that." She shrugged it off, momentarily forgetting the bond telling him exactly how she was feeling.

"What is his name?" In his seething fury, Godric spoke his words very distinctly. All his senses were hyper alert as if there were a threat immediately outside his chambers. He struggled to keep his hands from clawing as his fangs distended to their fullest length.

Cara shook her head, and swallowed hard. "Know what I need from you right now," she whispered.

"Tell me," he ground out. "Anything, my love, anything at all, and it is yours without question." Revenge, jewels, Spain, whatever she wanted, it was hers.

She gently inhaled the dark, spicy scent of his neck. "Just hold me, and let's don't talk about it again. It was forever ago, and I want it to stay...back then. I'm ok _now_, and that's what matters."

He raised his hand to her hair and started stroking, willing her to...he did not know, simply willing her to truly be ok now. He was glad she wanted him to hold her into his body. It crossed his mind that he needed the comfort of this closeness as much as she did. He was also glad that she could not see his face just then.

So, he held her close, comforting her as best he could, inhaling her scent and listening to her heart beat to reassure himself that she was safe in his arms, while he mentally devised plans to locate and secure this man who would finally die an excruciatingly painful death a year or two after he met him.

"So, mein Cara, which high school did you attend," he silkily questioned.

Cara couldn't help it - she burst out laughing. Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed herself back far enough to see his face. "Good try Mr. Sexy Vampire Beast, but sorry, no go," she quipped. She leaned up and quickly kissed his cheek, then, "Human needs a minute, and some coffee, and in that order. Lemme up."

He scanned her face and found only clear eyes and a bright smile, so he acquiesced.

Godric watched as she flitted to the bathroom, slightly stunned with her ability to recover so very quickly from such strong, negative emotions. Earlier, when she had shrugged her shoulder to imply that she was shrugging off the horrible event, he had almost commented, but had held his tongue. Then and now, the bond told him what he truly needed to know, and he was once again astonished by her strength.

He wondered if he should discuss with her how surprisingly strong their bond already was. From what he knew of such things, they were exhibiting signs of a well-formed second bond, yet they had only come together this same night, and by accident at that.

A few moments later she returned, made herself a cup of her coffee, drank it down, then straddled his lap.

She put her hands on his chest. "Yes."

He tucked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear, and asked, "Yes, what, ma belle?" Dare he hope...?

"I'll not only move in with you, but I'll move in _here_ with you, if you really want me to."

Immediately his eyes darkened as his hands firmly grasped her waist.

"You are certain?"

She could understand the sudden gravity of his voice. She nodded, and smiled softly. "I think I must," she whispered, her eyes never leaving his.

"Why," he queried just as softly.

"Because I love you, Godric, and because I _do_ love you, I have to follow my heart, and no matter how scared I am, and no matter how worried I am, my heart is leading me straight back to you."

He closed his eyes in sweet relief.

She raised her hand to cup his cheek, and felt her heart loosen a bit when he rubbed his cheek in the palm of her hand. "I have no idea how this is all going to go, but I do know that you're definitely worth taking a chance with."

A moment later Cara gasped when he opened his red-rimmed eyes.

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****Btw: I'm thrilled to see every single notification in my inbox of a new follow or favorite, and I savor every review y'all send me. Thank you very much for helping me enjoy my first fic!** **

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	40. Chapter 40

****Author's Note****

**(Possibly NSFW) **

**Ok, my dear readers, the time has come. We've (finally) reached THE END of the LONGEST NIGHT EVER! You've been so very good, and incredibly patient, so, to the tune of "Butterfly" by Crazy Town, I give you this: **

**.**

**~Anticipating, Chapter 40~**

**.**

**(A different kind of night, aka: Ponder, Plan, Plot, and Pray - Part 7...)**

**.**

Godric gazed down at Cara, desperately relieved to know that, despite his most recent faux pas, she really was going to move in with him...here, in his quarters, where he could drift off into his day rest with her in his arms, knowing she is safe, and warm, and his.

Although the bond told her of his almost primordial joy, Cara was still concerned about the blood tears pooling in his beautiful blue eyes. Godric shouldn't cry, she thought. Godric shouldn't _ever_ cry!

Quickly she raised her other hand to lower his head to hers and, for once, she captured his lips in a softly searing, soul-felt kiss. He brought his hands up to cup her face, holding her steady until he suddenly took firm control, plunging his tongue into her mouth, savoring, plundering, teasing and stoking deep, scorching fires.

Soon lightheaded and needing to breathe, Cara tore her lips from his to immediately begin placing open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, pausing to nip at his ear lobe before tasting and biting all around his throat. Panting and burning with love and desire and intention, she soon lowered herself to her knees between his thighs so she could properly worship his nipples, biting and sucking first one, then the other, until Godric himself was panting and warning her of his need.

Cara leaned her head back, grasped each side of his black silk sleep pants, temporarily ignored the huge bulge at his crotch, and looked him directly in the eye. "Up, my love. I'm hungry for something that only you can give me."

His eyes, hooded with desire and burning that deep, bright blue she loved so much, widened at both her command and her throaty tone. His fangs, like his cock, were at full mast, and he was purring an ancient rhythm. He quickly lifted his hips, and gasped as she lightly scored her nails down his waist, hips, and thighs as she lowered then tossed them aside.

Slowly, almost reverently, she smoothed her warm hands around and up his ankles and calves, pausing only to spread his knees far apart before raising her eyes to meet his euphoric gaze as she lightly traced his inner thighs with her fingertips. She blessed his inner knees up to the silky juncture of his thighs with her tender explorations, and to his immense frustration, completely avoided his throbbing, weeping cock.

"I haven't done this in a very long time," she huskily revealed, "but I find I'm starving for a...stronger...taste of you. Can I taste you, my Godric? Can I touch you with my tongue? Can I take you into my mouth?" He groaned, sounding vaguely like a wounded animal, but she didn't pause for a second. "Your flesh is thick and hard and cool, but my mouth is soft and warm and wet for you...only for you, my Godric."

He nodded, unsure how much of her sweet, erotic torture he could endure, but extraordinarily willing to find out.

Knowing that his eyes were following her every move, Cara bit her kiss-swollen lip in anticipation and slowly lowered her gaze over his ancient tattoos, past his hard nipples, down the rippled lines of his abdomen, over the flat expanse of his stomach, and on downward to memorize the thick, hard cock throbbing for her attention.

He jerked at her quiet moan of appreciation, then hissed long and hard when she guided him into her hot mouth. He never knew how he managed not to cum immediately.

His body rigid, his fangs extended past his lower lip, Godric fisted his hands into the cushions of the sofa and hung on for dear sanity as she took him as far into her mouth as she could.

After a couple of strong-sucking bobs with her head, Cara popped him out of her mouth. Slowly, carefully, she gently eased the hood the rest of the way down to fully expose the sensitive head of his cock to her soft warm tongue, and proceeded to drive him ever closer to the edge with each stroke and twirl.

A few moments later, she lifted her gaze to find him still watching, mesmerized, as she worked him with increasing fervor. His lips were slightly parted, his eyes hooded and shining with need, his scent strong and heady as his hips writhed and twitched, instinctively encouraging his Cara in her task.

Keeping one hand on his thick length and her eyes locked on his, she lowered her other hand to cup and gently knead his heavy sack as she sucked and gripped his throbbing cock harder and tighter in a rhythm he couldn't fight no matter how hard he tried.

Mere moments later, his eyes darkened, his balls tightened, he threw his head back and roared so loud the pictures on the wall rattled as he came in hard, cool spurts. The cushions on either side of him were shredded beyond repair.

After recovering for a very long minute, Godric suddenly scooped Cara up into his arms and blurred over to his bed.

In the blink of an eye, Cara found herself sitting on the side of the bed but placed flat on her back, the robe a memory, her knees bent and her thighs spread wide. The second the room stopped spinning and she met Godric's burning, mischievous gaze, he parted her slick inner lips with his thumbs and lowered his head.

Five licks, Cara thought in a haze. Five licks and one hard suckle and she was screaming his name like never before. Then, without giving her a chance to recover, he plunged two fingers in deep and started pumping, all the while teasing and tormenting her clit in a rhythm off barely enough to keep her on edge. Finally he added a third finger and started pumping counterpoint to every tight-lipped suck he bestowed on her swollen nub.

Just as she was about to come undone, he lifted his head and, still thrusting his fingers in and out, harder and harder, he caught her gaze as he lowered his head to her inner thigh. A couple of open-mouthed kisses and a small prick later, Cara screamed his name until she was hoarse.

Eyes closed, body more relaxed than ever before, Cara simply smiled when Godric stood between her wide-spread legs and grabbed her hips to position her opening at the right angle for his invasion.

"Hold on," he growled, his voice deep and raspy. Cara opened her eyes and saw that his face was hard with passion, his pallor almost gone from his feeding, and a smear of blood from her vein still darkened his lips.

She grasped the bedcovers a split second before he slammed into her, hard and deep and fast, over and over, his grip bruising her hips as he held her steady to accept his driving force.

Over and over he slammed into her, subtly changing the angle of his penetration to leave no part of her tight passage unclaimed. Cara came hard...a few minutes later, she came again, just has intensely...

•**0~*~*~*~*~*~0~*~*~*~*~*~0•**

Sometime later, Cara felt Godric smoothing his hand over her back as she lay draped over his chest. She felt boneless and kind of floaty as she remembered the last part of their evening, and loved every second of it.

Godric sensed his love awakening, and softly kissed the top of her head. The love and satisfaction coursing through the bond bathed his heart in warmth.

"Welcome home, my love," he whispered. "My bed is now complete."

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****Ok...so...too lemony? Too tart? What did y'all think about it? Sorry it's so short, but it's not like they had a lot of energy left for talking... (My muses are pacing and practicing chewing on their nails - hurry - review quickly before ALL their nails are gone!)****

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	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my loyal, patient, and extremely supportive followers and reviewers. Your love has been the food for my muses, and we sincerely appreciate you! **

****Obligatory disclaimer: I own nothing except the plots, Cara, and other invented characters, so no suing or stealing or whatever!****

**.**

**~Anticipating, Chapter 41~**

**.**

**(And now, Godric's thoughts)**

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Godric savored the sound of his beloved's warm heart beating in the safety of his arms, and hoped she was not unduly distressed by the day death soon to overtake him. He inhaled her warm scent deeply, and detected not only the heady scent of their recent joinings, but the odor of the hormones changing within her body. He smiled wryly even as he held her even closer to him. According to his meager understanding of such things, he was truly lucky she had been as calm as she had been during parts of their previous discussion. The next week could prove to be very...interesting. With a devious grin, he contemplated just how very _interesting_ the coming nights would be.

During his day... He halted the onslaught of the few memories he still retained of his human times. In truth, he had gained more humanity during his last couple of centuries as a vampire than he had ever possessed as a true human. Everything was so blessedly different now, and in so many ways.

He nuzzled into his Cara's hair, and savored the calming, grounding effects of her softly scented warmth.

While he would never lie to her about either his human or vampire past, there were some truths he would always choose to withhold. But even so, she needed to know that some vampires absolutely could be the monsters village idiots like the FOTS thought them to be, and were oftimes even worse, but he would always be on his best behavior around her, and would demand the same of those who served him.

However much he wanted to protect her from the worst of his world, for her own security she needed to be aware of at least some of the risks associated with the more violently macabre of his kind.

He wished he could have told her more this night about the plots he sensed and the precautions they would need to take to ensure their safety, but he was extremely pleased with how well things had gone...all things considered. He would make time to discuss these situations with her as soon as he could. At least now he would not have to resort to kidnapping her for her own safety.

As far as he could sense, she needed protection from at least three different potential dangers. He pondered the Were offensive, the one danger she was aware of, and considered who was behind it. Soon after the coming nightfall, he intended to extract what information he could from the Weres in his custody. His deep blue eyes glowed as he hoped their continued stay in that particular facility encouraged their willingness to talk.

His suspicions were slowly building, but he refused to show his hand before he had not only more proof, but also a full list of the players involved. The second and third dangers were more nebulous, and involved the Council, their plans, his own plans, and the necessary discrepancies between the two.

While his enemies hidden both within the Council and, externally, within the vampire royalty of the Americas, were potentially numerous, now was not yet the time to strike. Too many investigations had to be completed, and much more groundwork had to be laid. At least his plans were slowly falling into place, as were his spies and other supporters. He would need to contact his most trusted allies, but not yet. He hated playing waiting games, but knew well the benefits of such strategies.

He found himself lightly stroking the silky skin of her arm, moving so softly that it would not wake her. Touching her, being in some sort of physical contact with her, was now an acknowledged obsession. But he would not wake her. He was quickly realizing just how reticent she was about discussing any sort of emotions, well, her _own_ at least. Although much progress had been made, this night had not been easy for her.

Her fear and insecurities ate at him, and there was a certain wistfulness he sometimes sensed from her that chipped at his heart.

Smiling sadly, he realized that his Cara was still every bit as much of an enigma as the day he met her. There was something distinctly _more_ about her, something..."other". Even the irascible Dr. Ludwig had commented on it, but without a reason to take her blood, which he refused to authorize, she had no guess as to what Cara was.

It did not matter, though.

That he had accidentally begun their bonding surprised him less than he thought it should, and he wondered if perhaps his subconscious were more at fault than he realized. The knowledge that they had shared blood, that his blood was living in her veins just as her blood lived in his, soothed and appeased the magnificent, feral beast living just below the surface of his control.

He wished he could have made their first bonding more ceremonial, that he had given the blood exchange the reverence both Cara and the bond deserved. Then he decided that, in the end, it also did not matter.

She was here, she was his, and he was hers.

**.**

**~Fin d'Anticipating~**

**.**

•**0~*~*~*~*~*~•0•~*~*~*~*~*~0•**

**.**

****Ok, dear readers, this is the end of Anticipating . I realize this might seem rather sudden, but the "mission" for this story (the emotional and physical connection between Godric and Cara) has been achieved. I **_**really**_** hope you liked this story as much as I loved writing it, and would love to hear your opinions about the story as a whole. **

****sniff** I'm kind of emotional as this is my first fic! **more sniffing****

**I **_**am**_** considering writing a sequel, but I'd like to know what **_**you**_** think. Is there more of their story to be told? DO you **_**want**_** a sequel? And if so, what questions do you want answered? **

**Your support through this process has been overwhelming and so very much appreciated. I love that so many of you have taken the time to read and respond to this story. I feel like we've taken a huge trip together and should share pizza and anecdotes! :D**

**Now, I'm **_**also**_** considering several other stand-alone "Godric and Cara" stories as well. I love my Cara, and I want to investigate other ways that she and Godric can get together. (See the *Godric and Cara* post on my WordPress account for more information: (delete the spaces) addicted2godric. wordpress. com)****

**What say you?**

**.**


	42. A Total AN: Update Regarding A Sequel

Just an update regarding a sequel and other stuff:

1. To all the wonderful readers and reviewers: THANK YOU! Your support and comments have been amazing, and I really do appreciate every one of you. Y'all have made writing my first fic an incredibly delightful, fun, fearsome yet fantastic experience.

2. Now: to my "Guest" reviewers: thank you so very much for all the wonderful reviews! I'd love have been able to write y'all back, and I'm actively pouting that I couldn't, but you can't send replies to "guest" accounts! Booo! Anyway, your support and reviews have been awesome! Thank you!

3. I've already written one side story (well, a short one shot) regarding "the afternoon after the night before". Warning for the squeamish: Cara "starts"...and Godric is VERY happy about it... Check out my profile page for that story and others.

4. I'm planning several other outtakes/one-shots/side stories (don't you love all these words that basically mean the same thing?) to sort of flesh out Anticipating and to tide (my need for reviews) us all over until I can get started on the sequel.

5. And yes, _**there WILL be a sequel! :D **_ I'm planning on answering SO MANY questions, and I think y'all might be surprised about Cara's...ancestry - at least I HOPE you are!

6. Confession time: I haven't even STARTED on said sequel yet...hell, I don't even have a NAME picked out for it. I'm strongly considering calling it "Waffling" because I keep waffling between three different titles, lol.

My muses are being irksome little freaks - they're causing me to think of several OTHER Godric/Cara storylines (same names and characters, just completely different stories), and for some reason they keep reminding me that Emma hasn't even SEEN Andre's tight, high, perfectly sculpted ass yet...

7. Finally, I really want to thank all of you again for being such **fanfuckingtastic** readers and reviewers. I couldn't have asked for better!

If you have questions or comments, feel free to PM me. Y'all are absolutely the nicest group of people, and your support throughout this story has been inspiring.

Thanks!

~Mer


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N and NOTICE:**

**A/N portion:** Although I'm nowhere near ready to start posting it, I wanted to let y'all know that I've been working on a plot outline for Anticipating 2.0, and have actually completed about half of the first chapter.

**NOTICE portion:** I *have* published a one-shot/side-story about Cara's past appropriately titled **"****GRILLED CHEESE ON THE BOULEVARD - AN ANTICIPATING ONE-SHOT (CARA)". **Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading my words, and for your reviews.

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